Supervisors deadlocked over travel
By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
October 5, 2004
Lauderdale County supervisors deadlocked Monday on approval of nine out-of-town trips to conferences and conventions scheduled to be taken by county officials this fiscal year.
District 2 Supervisor Jimmie Smith and District 4 Supervisor Joe Norwood voted to approve all the trips listed in the board's agenda in one action.
District 3 Supervisor Craig Hitt and District 5 Supervisor Ray Boswell voted to accept the trips individually as the events come up throughout the year.
District 1 Supervisor Eddie Harper was reportedly out of town and did not attend the meeting. Because the votes tied on both motions, the actions failed.
Norwood is scheduled to attend seven of the nine out-of-town events listed, including a National Association of County Officials annual conference scheduled for July in Honolulu. Smith is scheduled to attend six out-of-town meetings.
The list of conferences and conventions for this fiscal year also include two events in Jackson, two in Biloxi, and other events in Washington, D.C., Houston, Texas and Las Vegas.
Boswell, who does not plan to attend any of the out-of-town conferences, said he would not vote to approve of supervisors attending them all in one motion.
Hitt also said he wants to address each of the meetings individually as they come up during the year. He said that is the way the board handles travel requests from other departments in the county.
Hitt said: "We voted on the other issues (of travel) in the budget, and we still require them to come back and ask for approval for the travel. I just think we should address them all the same."
Again, Smith said the supervisors have approved a travel list for years.
Supervisors have been under fire publicly for taking what some citizens, and fellow supervisor Boswell, have considered to be unnecessary trips. Travel expenses billed to the county this year for a single trip to New York for a bond presentation, totaled $15,000. That did not include several conferences and conventions attended by several supervisors throughout the year.
Supervisors may take up the travel issue again next week. The board recessed its Monday meeting until 1 p.m. on Oct. 13.
In other business the board:
Extended the county's state of emergency, allowing county workers to help clean up private property damaged last month by Hurricane Ivan. County residents are urged to put limbs and debris at the edge of their property so county crews can pick them up. Supervisors said it may still take several weeks to get to everyone.
Hired Charlie A. Irby of Collinsville as an assistant to Rob Seal,
executive director of the Lauderdale County Agri-Center. Irby was hired at a salary of $21,500.
Approved a raise of $1,200 for Janice Smith, administrative assistant for the Lauderdale County Tourism Board, bringing her salary to $19,830.
Approved advertising bids to buy extrication equipment with Homeland Security funds, totaling about $25,000, according to Clarence Butler,
Lauderdale County volunteer fire coordinator. The board also approved the purchase of a thermal imaging camera with Homeland Security funds. Butler said the camera would help locate a person trapped in a burning building. Its estimated cost is $10,000-$15,000.
Passed two resolutions, one proclaiming the month of October as "Domestic Violence Awareness Month" and the other proclaiming this week as "Mental Illness Awareness Week."
