Community reacts to Madison County sheriff’s lawsuit

JACKSON, Tenn. — Madison County Sheriff John Mehr filed an 89-page lawsuit Monday afternoon in Madison County Circuit Court. It outlines why he is demanding $2.8 million be added to his 2019-202o budget, taking it to $25 million.

“It contains a lot of information,” Dale Conder said. He’s one of the lawyers representing Madison County Mayor Jimmy Harris in the lawsuit. Conder says while they have received the lawsuit, they are still going through it.

“We’ll meet with our client and go through the lawsuit and the exhibits attached to that and determine what our response should be and then file an answer to the lawsuit,” Conder said.

The lawsuit amounts to an inch thick of paperwork, dozens of claims against the County Commission, and two sides with lawyers. The real people funding this are you, the taxpayers.

“I think he needs to cut back on what he’s doing, because he’s spending a lot of money,” Madison County resident Thomas Reeves said.

While attorney Marcus Reaves flipped through the paperwork, she weighed both sides.

“The conditions of the jail are substandard. But what’s projected is not enough money because medical care is so expensive,” she said, “If this is what you’re going to get, this is it. Cut your salary some.”

But she said there is something the taxpayers can do.

“They could file a third-party suit and say ‘I want it over with,’ but we normally don’t,” Reaves said.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office’s budget has increased by about $5 million in the last five years.