AMERICUS — The Sumter County Board of Commissioners, in a agenda setting meeting on Thursday, again discussed a request from Sumter County Sheriff Pete Smith to amend the budget and move $200,000 from the County’s contingency fund to the Sheriff’s Office contingency fund. The request is hiring five additional personnel for security in the new Sumter County Courthouse.

The request, already discussed in the Board’s work session on Tuesday, would not be part of the 2009-2010 budget, but would serve as a special line item fund for the Sheriff’s Office. The $200,000 request would come from the contingency fund which now holds about $650,000.

At Tuesday’s meeting Brent Williams, board chairman, said, “With this year and the budget being as tight as it is, we have already talked about having five furlough days for the remainder of this calendar year. We are talking about pulling this money out of contingency, which is what is giving us furlough relief at this point.”

Williams also pointed out that the $200,000 is the equivalent of eight furlough days for County employees. “If we do this, we have to be prepared to furlough employees for eight additional days,” he said.

County Administrator Lynn Taylor explained that the $200,000 was calculated on a nine and one-half month salary for the new deputies starting no earlier than the middle of September. The request does not include additional vehicles for the deputies, though the sheriff said, “I am requesting some money for some additional vehicles, just not in this request.”

Taylor explained that the cost will more than likely not reach the $200,000 and that all the budgeting for the new deputies depends on when they are hired. Williams reminded the board that the money will not be only a nine and a one-half month issue. “We are talking about a permanent change,” said Williams. “We are talking about $200,000 from here on ... six months from now this will be an annual $200,000-plus charge that will not go away, and that is what we will have to look at.”

Williams said he and all the board members are receiving calls from “people concerned about how to pay their taxes this year, at an extremely difficult time.” Commissioner Rick Davis concurred. “This is not a one-time request but ongoing for as long as we have a courthouse ... We need to look long and hard to see where the money is coming from. I think we should set the request aside for study and take no action at this time,” he said.

Commissioner Andrea Brooks expressed concern with taking the money for the request from the contingency fund. Commissioner Al Hurley said he agrees with the other commissioners and feels the request needs to be looked at further before taking action.

Commissioner Randy Howard said, “The sheriff said this is only temporary, but he will be back next year. I don’t like taking it from contingency or from people being furloughed. We need to take a closer look at this. This is a (judicial) circuit and I would like to know from other counties what their cost is for security. I talk with people worried about paying their taxes and buying food. It has come to a bad situation for a lot of folks.”

Williams instructed Taylor to get the information from other counties in the circuit. She said she had talked with three counties and none had stepped up security in their courthouses.

The sheriff’s request is on the agenda as a separate item for the 6 p.m. Tuesday meeting in the large courtroom of the Sumter County Courthouse.

Eddie Wallace, a local contractor, addressed the board with concerns about the bids process, asking why local contractors are not used more for County projects. He said he was called once about performing work on a County project and then found out the work had been given to someone else. He expressed the desire to receive information about projects up for bid.

Brent Williams explained that all projects for bid are published in the County’s legal organ, the Americus Times-Recorder, by law. Lynn Taylor added that the information is also available on the County’s website. Wallace had questions about what a legal organ is and Williams explained that, by state law, city and county governments are required to advertise the bids in the legal organ, which is selected each year.

Also to be considered as a separate agenda item is the acceptance of a proposal to negotiate a contract for driveway accesses to the new Georgia State Patrol Post and main entry and realignment access drive in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Transportation schedule and assistance. This would cost the County about $40,000.

The board will also consider as a separate agenda item the proposed ordinances/changes regarding storage and parking of recreational vehicles, trailers and other vehicles, and the nuisance ordinance.

Also discussed was a continuation of a presentation at Tuesday’s meeting by National Fire Services (NFS) of Sylvania on a proposed plan to have one county-wide fire department. NFS presented a county-wide fire assessment with a price tag of $738,822 for the first year (start-up) and $767,522 for the second year (budget).

The plan would encompass all existing fire districts and departments in the county, including volunteer fire departments. The plan’s purpose is the provide uniform fire protection to everyone in the county, which will result in the lower (better) insurance rates.

Lynn Taylor and Ann Barefoot, who works in the Board of Commissioners’ Office, gave the board of commissioners some numbers at Thursday’s meeting on how the county-wide fire program could be funded. According to Barefoot, she was able to “tweak” the NFS plan down to $602,000.

Other items on the consent agenda for Tuesday’s meeting include the following.

• Renewal of the Prison Health Services contract.

• Approval of a personnel policy change adding a definition for gross misconduct as it relates to the new COBRA law.

• Approval of safety discount verification form in which the County will be discounted 7.5 percent for workers comp and 5 percent for liability claims.

• Approval of Recreation Columns at Boone Park annual membership fees of $25.

• Approval of a state contract for FAA reimbursement for T-hangar construction at Souther Field Airport.

• Approval of a resolution to change the name of the airport to Jimmy Carter Regional Airport.