Madison Co. Commission highlights sheriff’s office budget issues, buyout program

JACKSON, Tenn. — The September Madison County Commission was jam packed with votes during the marathon meeting, which lasted from 8:30 a.m. until past noon.

Madison County Finance Director Karen Bell showed a well-known PowerPoint from 2017, which describes the sheriff’s plans for the training center in Denmark and what he planned to meet by 2020.

“When do you anticipate the three-year start?” Madison County Commissioner Jeff Wall asked.

“Once we get our whole facility finished. Well, when COVID goes away by the end of the year and the prisoners come back and we can work through, it’ll be about a month and a half,” Sheriff John Mehr responded.

The sheriff’s original revenue projections are much higher than what the training center has actually brought in.

Bell said the sheriff’s office has also been marking money used for the training center under other line items, making it confusing for the finance department to know exactly how much money is spent on the training center every year.

Sheriff Mehr said the training center wasn’t bringing in the expected revenue because it hasn’t been completed yet, specifically a hallway with mock jail cells.

“Does this body not have the ability to seat a committee, or an oversight committee, for this particular project that we’re talking about with the training center? That’s what I would like to do,” Wall said.

That training center oversight committee should be voted on next month. It’s something that has been brought up before, but it got stuck in the finance committee.

Commissioners had a closed-door meeting with their attorney Monday regarding the lawsuit between Sheriff Mehr and the county commission. Attorneys say the lawsuit is currently set for trial Oct. 13 through Oct. 15 in Madison County Circuit Court.

The commission also passed a buyout program on Monday for county employees, with the exception of employees of the Jackson-Madison County School System, which commissioners expect will save several hundred thousand dollars a year going foward.

The buyout would be a one-time cost of about $500,000, and it’s only available for employees retiring between Sept. 21 and Nov. 9, 2020.

The commission also discussed the possibility of Beech Bluff Recreation Center extending its summer program to host virtual students, but they tabled the discussion to wait and see how many students would actually need the program.

And, in an impromptu vote, the commission decided that they won’t create a committee to research whether or not fireworks should be made legal in the county in the future.