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Motion to stop $600 stipend for cemetery overseer fails on tie as board debates veterans project funding
Summary
A divided Hall County board debated whether to end a $600 monthly stipend paid to Don Chuda for overseeing a veterans cemetery funded in part by other counties; a motion to stop the payment failed in a 3–3 tie, leaving the arrangement unchanged while commissioners urged review of the project status and funding controls.
Hall County commissioners engaged in a lengthy, at times heated, debate over a $600 monthly stipend paid to Don (Don Chuda) for overseeing work at a veterans cemetery project that has relied on matching funds from neighboring counties.
A commissioner opened the discussion saying they believed Hall County was not paying Mr. Chuda for cemetery oversight, but had since learned payments were occurring. At issue were competing understandings of authority and funding: several speakers explained that match funds (about $750,000 in earlier contributions) came from other counties and were to be administered by the Veterans Service Committee, not directly by the county board. Mike Ponte, who identified himself as “the chairman of the Veterans Committee,” explained the committee had approved payments to support project oversight and defended the committee’s role in supervising the funds.
Commissioners expressed frustration over project delays — notably a ‘Carolyn Tower’ component that requires redrawn blueprints and has stalled — and asked whether the county should continue making oversight payments while the project remains incomplete. One motion on the floor sought to end the $600 monthly payment to Don Chuda; the motion resulted in a tie (three yes, three no) and therefore failed. The board recorded no change and left authority and payments in place pending further review.
During discussion, commissioners and the Veterans Committee exchanged details about the project’s funding sources, prior motions that delegated spending authority to the veterans committee, and what remained to complete the cemetery (the tower and associated blueprints). Several commissioners urged the veterans committee to reconsider the timing of stipends and recommended clearer documentation of who controls the funds and how they should be spent. Board members also noted the committee’s prior role in protecting match funds from being reallocated by the state in earlier stages of the project.
The board did not take further formal action at the meeting on the stipend; commissioners asked the veterans committee and staff to provide documentation and to clarify whether funds come from Hall County tax revenues or pooled contributions from other counties before the next action.
