POPLARVILLE —
It was the last item on the agenda at Wednesday’s board of supervisors meeting: Salary increases for personnel in Circuit Court Clerk Vickie Hariel’s office.
It was listed as “personnel increases” and could have been interpreted as adding additional personnel to anyone perusing the agenda rather than a request for raises, but board president J. Patrick Lee told fellow supervisors it was a request from the circuit clerk for “salary increases” for personnel.
“To who?” asked District One Supervisor Anthony Hales, Sr.
“It looks like everybody,” replied Lee.
“I can’t go along with it,” said District One Supervisor Joyce Culpepper. “She knows I can’t go along with it.”
Said Lee, “What I want to know is, is these salary increases budgeted?” he asked County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin, Jr.
“The budget does not allow for any salary increases,” replied Lumpkin.
“But,” said Lee, “whether it’s in the budget or not, we don’t have enough money to allow these salary increases.”
“She’s over her budget now, isn’t she?” asked District Three Supervisor Dennis Dedeaux. Hariel was not present during Wednesday’s session.
“Do I hear a motion to deny these requested increases?” asked Lee.
Culpepper made the motion that the request be denied, and District Five Supervisor Sandy Kane Smith seconded it. The vote for denying the request was unanimous, 5-0.
It did not end there.
When the motion was made and seconded, Lee asked for discussion of the motion.
“Yes,” said Hales. “I think a memo ought to be sent out to everyone, saying if there is going to be a salary increase, the proposal should be made at budget time, not in the middle of the year.”
Next, after the original motion denying the request passed, Hales moved that a memo be sent to all “department heads and elected officials,” directing them to make any requests for salary increases at budget time only.
“It must be done at budget time,” said Hales. Culpepper seconded Hales’ motion.
That motion passed unanimously, also.
“So be it,” said Lee.
The board moved on to other business, zipping through a 21-item agenda.
Approved also was travel, which included a Feb. 29-to-March 1 trip to Washington by four supervisors and Lumpkin. Hales is not going. The board will travel along with the Picayune City Council, which approved travel plans on Tuesday. Each entity is paying its own way. No one from the Poplarville Board of Aldermen is going this year.
County and Picayune officials maintain the trip is worth it, and said prior trips generated millions of dollars of federal funding for the county and its two cities. County and city officials plan to lobby senators and representatives and some departments to encourage them to help fund local projects.
The plan is to meet with Mississippi’s two U.S. Senators, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, Congressman Steven Palazzo, and Smith plans to meet with U.S. Department of Energy officials concerning a proposed methane gas plant planned for the Central Land Fill at Millard. The plant would be used to generate electricity from gas for the local electrical grid, if enough funds are found to install it.
The technology for the proposal is common and has been used at other landfills in Mississippi and at other U.S. landfill sites. The plants burn methane gas, which is generated by the decaying matter in the landfill, to produce electricity from methane-powered generators.
Other travel items approved by the board included: A deputy to a Law Enforcement Refresher Course at Camp Shelby March 25-May 25; a deputy to Advanced Passenger and Commercial Vehicle-Criminal and Terrorism Interdiction in Ellisville May 14-18; a deputy to Property Room Management Training in Gulfport April 17-18; veterans service officer to training in Tupelo May 9-11; and a deputy to pick up one K-9, donated by the 341st Military Working Dog Training Squadron in San Antonio, Tex., Feb. 26-28.
The board adjourned to Monday, March 5, at 9 a.m.
Local News
Supervisors nix salary increases for circuit court personnel; approve Washington trip
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