About a month into the new fiscal year, the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors is already facing tough budget issues.

During Monday’s meeting, the Supervisors discussed the cost of purchasing new patrol vehicles for the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department.

As deputies make their rounds, it’s evident that the county fleet is becoming increasingly rundown.

The Board approved the purchase of eight new patrol vehicles on Monday, hoping to establish a four-year cycle of introducing new vehicles into the fleet.

The Board also approved a request last month to purchase three patrol vehicles from the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Department. These vehicles were added to the fleet over the weekend.

However, the Sheriff’s Department also put in a request for two trucks to be used by narcotics and investigations, whose vehicles currently have over 200,000 miles.

The request was put on hold until the Board could find enough money in other areas to cover the cost of the trucks.

After increasing the budget for this year, the cost to operate some departments still seems to be rising.

With rising costs, some Board members expressed concern about maintaining their promises to stay on budget.

In the end, the Board voted to stick to the $60,000 budget for purchasing the eight new vehicles. 

It was a difficult decision for most of the Board to turn down the additional request, but we commend them for adhering to the budget they set in September. 

Many county residents expressed concern about the increase in budget when it was set, and they should be happy to hear that the Board is making every effort to stick to that number and not exceed their spending.