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Lamar County Commission approves jail staffing change, courthouse feasibility study and routine settlements
Summary
At its January 8 meeting the Lamar County Commission approved converting a deputy slot to a part‑time jailer, authorized a courthouse feasibility study with CMH, approved settlement items from the revenue commissioner and several routine payments; a surplus vehicle was tabled and an equipment purchase for District 4 was added to the agenda.
The Lamar County Commission on Jan. 8 approved a set of routine and operational measures intended to reduce jail overtime, begin long‑term planning for the courthouse and finalize annual revenue settlement items with the state.
Among the actions, commissioners approved converting one existing 20‑hour deputy slot into a part‑time jailer position "at the same rate of pay, $10 an hour," a shift the sheriff said would help reduce comp time and overtime without increasing the budget. Sheriff (referred to in the transcript as "mister Nardv") told the commission the jail population that morning was 84 inmates, noting pressure on staffing and operations.
Commissioners also voted to begin a feasibility study for the Lamar County Courthouse. Commissioners said CMH offered to absorb part of the feasibility‑study cost if the firm is later selected for architectural and engineering work; the commission discussed the possibility of using capital project funds rather than the general fund.
The meeting approved the revenue commissioner’s list of state tax errors and exemptions to be submitted in the county’s final settlement with the state; commissioners referenced a recent state law that exempts the first $40,000 of certain business valuations but said the exact statutory citation was not provided in the discussion.
Other routine approvals included a $64.75 payment to Mary Ann Jones for services at a special event. The commission tabled an agenda item to address a surplus 2011 Tahoe assigned to a local police department and amended the agenda to add consideration of equipment purchase for District 4; Commissioner Jim moved to purchase a PC 300 excavator from Mike Hanson with a quoted price of about $32,000, although the final vote on that specific purchase was not clearly recorded in the transcript.
The commission also thanked Marshall County EMA for temporarily providing and helping install a donated mobile communications tower to replace one needed for hurricane season.
What’s next: items tabled for a future meeting include the surplus Tahoe; the county will also pursue any follow‑up required to complete the courthouse feasibility procurement and the sheriff’s staffing changes.
