Harrison County Council approves $200,000 courthouse appropriation and multiple transfers, unanimously

Harrison County Council voted unanimously on March 9 to approve a series of budget moves, transfers and salary ordinance changes that the county said will fund courthouse contractual work, emergency medical services equipment and internal personnel reclassifications.

The council approved a $200,000 additional appropriation for contractual services in the cumulative courthouse fund after Councilwoman Holli Castetter moved the measure and Councilman Joe Kellum seconded; the motion passed 7-0. County administrator Chad Shireman told the council an earlier request for the clerk's records perpetuation fund also seeks $2,446.99 for SQL server upgrades "needed for APEX software."

Councilwoman Jennie Capelle moved and Castetter seconded approval of a $215,733 capital outlay appropriation for emergency medical services paid from the county share of riverboat funds; that motion also passed 7-0. Councilman Richard Gerdon and Councilman Jake Blackman led an approved $5,056.25 additional appropriation for proactive maintenance in the government facilities plan fund, which likewise passed unanimously.

The council approved several transfers across funds to cover staffing and equipment changes. Among them was a $68,949.52 transfer from the patrol officers line to fund a digital forensic examiner in the sheriff's budget, approved on a 7-0 vote after a motion by Councilman Blackman and second by Councilwoman Jennie Capelle. Other transfers included $711 in the circuit court clerk budget, $600 and $728 within auditor lines to fund part‑time employees, $8,700 in the local road & street fund for contractual services and a $50,128 reclassification in probation staffing funded from the riverboat share.

Parks superintendent Larry Shickles requested three items that will be taken up at a future meeting: $9,225.41 from the county share of riverboat funds to replace six laptops, docking stations and a scanner ("the computers in question are from 2014"), $24,500 to replace two property-line fences at Hayswood Park to meet state code with adjoining landowners sharing costs, and $1,356 to reimburse Main Street for operational costs related to a prior Christmas event. Shickles said final fence removal and cleanup costs will be presented at the next council meeting.

County auditor Sara Burdick presented three amended salary ordinances that the council approved as a package. The highway superintendent's pay was set at $35,245.76 to cover a six-month period while the current superintendent trains a replacement prior to retirement. The council also approved reclassifying a sheriff department employee to a full-time patrol officer at the six‑year pay tier, and established a part‑time clerk records position at $17.00 per hour, which Burdick said had been included in the clerk's 2026 budget but omitted from the salary ordinance.

Chad Shireman notified the council of a change in advertising requirements for additional appropriations effective Jan. 1, 2026; several additional appropriations approved earlier in the year were re‑advertised and the council re‑approved them in the same manner they were originally acted on. An ordinance adopted by the council lists numerous line items across county general, cumulative bridge, motor vehicle highway, riverboat, county riverboat ordinance 98‑12 and other funds covering equipment, vehicles, town distributions and program funding.

Chairman Kyle Nix commented on former council attorney Mike Summers, noting setbacks Summers had experienced and expressing hope he could return; Council Attorney Tad Whitis agreed to continue providing legal counsel under a more flexible contract until the council revisits the issue. Councilman Blackman moved to adjourn at 7:36 p.m.; Councilwoman Jennie Capelle seconded and the motion carried 7-0.

Votes at a glance: the council recorded unanimous (7-0) approval on the $200,000 courthouse contractual services appropriation, the $215,733 EMS capital outlay from riverboat funds, a $5,056.25 proactive maintenance appropriation, multiple transfers (including the $68,949.52 sheriff transfer), approval of three amended salary ordinances, and re-approval of previously advertised additional appropriations required by a procedural change.

The council deferred final action on several parks requests to a subsequent meeting, where Mr. Shickles said he will present final fence-removal and construction costs.