Lincoln County supervisors discuss road and other expenses
Published 9:34 pm Monday, July 10, 2017
The boardroom where the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors usually discuss their business was unusually quiet Monday.
The supervisors, except for District 1’s Jerry Wilson, who was absent, flipped through the many pages of the June docket of claims, occasionally breaking the silence to query county administrator David Fields about an expense.
District 3 Supervisor Nolan Williamson raised his eyebrows. “We paid $15,000 for an expert witness?” he asked.
Fields explained it was a doctor who was set to testify in a murder trial.
Williamson also questioned a purchase of a shotgun by Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing. Fields told him the money for the gun came out of the sheriff’s seizure fund.
District 5 Supervisor Doug Falvey wanted to know why Magnolia Disposal serves Lincoln Civic Center and not Waste Pro, which has the county contract for waste management.
“Why doesn’t Waste Pro pick it up,” he asked.
Fields said Magnolia has the contract for the dumpsters at the civic center and at the sheriff’s office. He said Waste Pro doesn’t pick up commercial accounts.
Falvey wants the county to check to see how much it would cost for Waste Pro to pick up those dumpsters.
Supervisors voted 4-1 to pay the June claims.
While meeting, Williamson took a moment to question other supervisors about the dwindling road funds received from the state.
He’s concerned about the decrease in funding for road and bridge repair and the potential closures of bridges that don’t meet state and federal requirements.
“As long as they don’t fund it, it’s us sitting in the hot seat,” he said.
Falvey said they should pay to repair what they can themselves.
“If we don’t do something for ourselves, nobody else is going to do it,” he said. “We can’t sit here and not do nothing.”
The Lincoln County Board of Supervisors will meet Monday at 9 a.m.