County catches up on bill with drug task force

By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
July 16, 2004
Lauderdale County Supervisors voted Thursday to pay $100,000 owed to the East Mississippi Drug Task Force.
County officials said the reason the task force was apparently shorted the money over the past five years is not known. Supervisors approved transferring $100,000 from the general fund to the task force fund.
Tony Green, Lauderdale County's new administrator, said the task force showed a negative balance of $94,000. He said payroll expenditures for the task force over several years have exceeded grant proceeds due to pay raises and that the county should have been paying more money each year.
The board also voted Thursday to request bids to pave and overlay county roads.
Lauderdale County Engineer Neal Carson said bidding the work out will cost the more than if county crews did the work, but he hasn't been able to get to as many roads done this summer as he or supervisors wanted.
Carson said it is essential to get assistance from an asphalt contractor to get more work done in each supervisor's district before winter.
Voted to advertise for an upgrade of the county's data processing department's computer system; and
Authorized the issuance of $4 million in Urban Renewal Revenue Bonds for the development of the Mississippi State University/Riley Education and Performing Arts Center in downtown Meridian