Newton County court accepts new bonds, extends flood disaster declaration and approves budget fixes

Newton County court members on Tuesday accepted new bonds for several local officials, extended a county flooding disaster declaration tied to April 2024 events and approved two budget amendments, while instructing staff to pursue updated financial software and to note a vendor credit on the county's bill run.

The court met Jan. 28 with a prayer offered by Commissioner White and proceeded after confirming a quorum. The clerk presented a list of newly executed bonds for officials named in the record, including Colton (last name transcribed as "haard"), Robert (last name unclear), Greg Harbison (context unclear), Apprentice Hopson, Justice of the Peace Carla Brooks and Tax Assessor Melissa Burks, and Commissioner/Road Commissioner Danny Benson. The court voted to accept and file the bonds; the clerk will file the sheriff-related bonds with the governor's office where required.

Why it matters: Accepting bonds formalizes that newly sworn officials are properly covered, and the budget votes and disaster declaration affect how the county documents and accesses recovery or grant funding.

Disaster declarations: The court voted to take no action on two separate items proposing continued hurricane and COVID‑19 emergency declarations. Separately, commissioners approved an extension of the ongoing flooding disaster declaration related to April 10 and April 27, 2024 events to preserve the county's administrative options for response and recovery.

Budget amendments and sheriff SP22 spending: The court approved two budget amendments. One adds approximately $68,619 to the auditor's 2025 budget to cover labor and benefits; the other acknowledges about $92,400 in SP22 funds used by the sheriff's office for ammunition, vehicles and radio consoles and ensures those expenditures are properly shown as SP22 spending in the county budget records. The clerk and auditor explained that those SP22 expenditures were already made and need line items for reporting and grant accounting.

Payment of bills and vendor credit: County staff presented bill payments across funds totaling roughly $137,800 (transcript totals). Commissioners identified a $1,871 equipment-credit irregularity that had been posted to Solid Waste instead of Precinct Three, creating a negative line item. The court approved payment of routine bills, instructing staff to attach a note adjusting Interstate Billing's $1,871 credit and to pursue either a vendor refund check or internal journal entries to reassign the credit to the proper fund. Commissioners emphasized the need to pay utility invoices to avoid late fees while the credit issue is resolved.

Financial software and purchasing-agent proposal: A lengthy discussion flagged the county's current financial and payroll software as outdated and cited recurring problems with 1099 production and fund-level reconciliation. Commissioners discussed demos of newer systems (the transcript references NetData's successor and a product referred to as AcuFund), and referenced a budget amendment that would create a purchasing-agent or purchasing-person position to centralize procurement and improve internal controls. The court asked that department heads be convened in March to review options and recommended involving county staff (Shannon Ponier was specifically requested) and the auditor in choosing a replacement system. The auditor was identified in the discussion as the official who normally selects county accounting software, subject to court approval and judge sign‑off for implementation details.

Process and next steps: The clerk will file required bond paperwork (including sending specified bonds to the governor's office), staff will follow up with Interstate Billing to resolve the credit, and the court scheduled a department head meeting for March to gather input on software options and procurement changes. The flooding-declaration extension and the listed budget amendments took effect as approved at the meeting.

The court adjourned after approving the bills with the Interstate Billing credit notation.