Supervisor board agendas have Falvey concerned
Published 10:07 pm Friday, February 1, 2019
A Lincoln County supervisor is continuing his crusade to stick to the script and follow legal guidelines when it comes to operating the board.
District 5 Supervisor Doug Falvey said at a January meeting he is concerned the board is not following the correct agenda each month at its meetings, which are held on the first and third Mondays.
“I’ve been concerned what we cover in our board meetings every month and we couldn’t find out what really we need to do,” he said.
Falvey researched supervisors’ agendas in a “blue book” that is given to board members when they enter the office.
He gave the other supervisors — Board President Jerry Wilson, Bobby Watts, Eddie Brown and Nolan Williamson — copies of an agenda that should be followed each month. He suggested they each study it and discuss it at the next meeting, which will be Monday at 9 a.m. at the Lincoln County-Brookhaven Government Complex.
“There’s one item in there that comes up every month (on the document.) You know what that item is? Amend the budget,” he said.
Falvey brought up a similar issue at a December meeting, voicing his concern at the board’s failure to follow through on its responsibility to sign contracts and amend budgets by resolution and reiterating his displeasure with the board’s willingness to delegate those tasks to department heads.
He complained in December about county departments running over their budget allotments. Though the county ended the previous fiscal year without going over-budget, he said adjustments to the budgets of “repeat offenders” were made to bring the balance sheet in line without the board’s approval.
At the December meeting, Falvey read from a 2005 directive from the state auditor that said, “the amount approved to be expended for any item in the budget must not be exceeded. The board may amend the budget by entering the amendment on the minutes using only the prescribed budget forms that are necessary to show the amendment.”
Falvey recently refused to sign a house-keeping measure approving board minutes kept by Lincoln County Chancery Clerk Tillmon Bishop, pointing out supervisors had not been provided copies of the minutes as required by law. Supervisors and guests at board meetings have recently begun receiving typed copies of the previous meeting’s minutes.