Residents Urge Alternatives to Furloughs; Prison Board Approves Jail Vouchers

A brief prison board session and the subsequent public-comment period at the Franklin County Board of Commissioners meeting featured praise for a sheriff-organized trunk-or-treat event and a resident’s extended impact statement urging the county not to furlough employees.

John Jordan of Fayetteville thanked the sheriff’s department for organizing the trunk-or-treat event, saying it “looked like they had a great turnout” and that “you had over 700 kids out there.” Valerie Jordan of Fayetteville read a prepared impact statement addressing county budget figures, a union request, and the local tax implications of furloughs or pay increases.

Valerie Jordan said the county’s 2025 budget is $162,700,000, that her county assessment is $37,950, and that correctional officers are seeking $900,000 annually in a proposed contract. She said the county has $11,700,000 in unrestricted reserves and urged commissioners to consider short-term borrowing or delaying vendor payments rather than furloughs, which she said would provide only small tax savings to individual homeowners.

Commissioner Bob Zabrowski responded to Jordan’s public comments by urging speakers to “keep your taxes out of the whole situation,” noting that commissioners represent the whole county and that many residents do not own high-value homes.

During the prison board portion of the meeting, the board took up and approved jail vouchers by motion and then adjourned the prison board session. The meeting then continued with the general agenda and approval of the consent agenda.

The statements in this article that quote residents are from public comment; budget figures and policy proposals were presented by the commenter and are not formal county-adopted findings unless otherwise noted by staff or an adopted action.