County departments find ways to stay within budget
Published 7:00 am Friday, December 23, 2016
Renovations at the Pearl River County Courthouse in Poplarville are underway. Crews worked to upgrade the handicap ramp to make it compliant with Americans with Disabilities regulations.
Photo by Julia Arenstam
During Wednesday’s Pearl River County Board of Supervisors meeting, Sheriff David Allison requested the cancellation of a consultant contract in the jail.
County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin said the contractor helped the jail receive ACA accreditation and cost $4,000 a month.
The Board voted to cancel the contract as a way to provide more funds to that department’s budget due to a reduction in federal and state inmates, Lumpkin said.
During departmental monthly reports, the Board discussed ongoing matters with the building inspection and animal and litter control.
County Animal Control Officer Danny Joe Slade said many of the illegal dump sites on private property were being cleaned.
However, Slade said there is a persistent problem with litter falling from the trucks of garbage collectors that are improperly transporting waste to the landfill.
Even with litter crews from the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department, if they “get it cleaned up next week, the next it will be deplorable again,” Slade said.
Slade said he intends to instate a zero tolerance policy for garbage collectors, after warning them numerous times.
On the animal control side, Slade said he has received an increasing number of calls from people wanting to surrender their pets, but don’t want to pay the animal shelter fee to do so.
District IV Supervisor Farron Moeller also asked Slade about a private property known as the Dreamland Trailer Park.
Moeller said he receives a number of calls about an excessive amount of stray cats that were left behind when residents moved from the area.
Slade said he was aware of the situation and is researching how to best trap the cats, without leaving the county’s traps vulnerable to theft.
The Board accepted proposals from Herzog CPA Company, PLLC for the 2016 and 2017 audits.
Lumpkin said it was the only company to bid on the project.
The Board also approved travel requests from the Circuit Clerk to a conference in Jackson, the fire coordinator to a conference in Ridgeland and VOCA to family/victim advocate training in Jackson, all between Jan. 11-13.
The Board revised holiday closings to include Friday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Dec. 26 as well as Monday, Jan. 2.
The next Board meeting will be held Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 9 a.m. in the Boardroom.
