The first meeting of a new term for the Choctaw County Board of Supervisors, held on Monday, January 6, was called to order by Chancery Clerk Steve Montgomery, in accordance with state law as the term of the Board officers had expired. Joey Stephenson was re-elected as Board President, at which time Montgomery turned the meeting over to Stephenson. Chris McIntire was then elected as Vice-President. Supervisor Mark Bruce was unable to attend the meeting but did follow the proceedings by phone.
The Board voted unanimously to rehire all county employees and employees of the elected officials with the exception of newly elected Sheriff Brandon Busby who, at a later point in the meeting requesting the re-hiring of Sheriff’s Dept. employees which was unanimously approved. The Board also voted unanimously to re-hire Marty Crowder as county engineer, Kasey Young as Board attorney and Kevin Null as county prosecuting attorney.
Fire Coordinator Blaine Adams requested that the Board approve fire contracts with the Towns of Weir and French Camp which was approved unanimously.
The Hospital Board has requested that the County fix the driveway to their facility. McIntire suggested that they have Marty Crowder assess the situation to determine what needs to be done to fix it properly, which the Board agreed to unanimously.
In other action, the Board:
• Voted 5-0 to approve a ‘record restoration responsibility’ contract for Chancery Clerk records that have aged or been damaged.
• Voted 5-0 to give 48% of the TVA cash in-lieu funds to the School District.
• Voted 5-0 to raise the purchase order limit from $1K to $1.5K.
• Voted 5-0 to approve a new contract with GEOCOMM for 9-1-1 mapping at a cost of $18K.
• Voted 5-0 to hire two new employees in District 2: Derick Jones and Rannie Jones.
• Voted 5-0 to allow ‘fee’ departments to charge one additional dollar on certain transactions, half going to county government and half to state government for the preservation of documents.
The Choctaw County Board of Supervisors will meet again on Tuesday, January 21 at 9 a.m.
