Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

JPs Argue Over Funds

JPs were bombarded with a number of money related issues at Monday night's regular quorum court meeting.

Upon viewing the financial statement, JPs determined the county is operating between $23,000 and $40,000 in the red.

They anticipate an influx of deposits to remedy situations, but are faced with only having about $4,000 left in county general to operate on the rest of the year if emergencies arise.

JP Gary Lewis hit the group with the fact the carry-over from the first of the year was underestimated. It was anticipated to be about $75,000 but was nearly $180,000.

Lewis told the group $61,000 of it could be put into the county general at the present time.

The county can only appropriated and spend 90% of its estimated budget yearly.

Lewis said they would be able to redo the anticipated revenue and have more cash at the ready.

His motion failed with only JPs George Clary and Curtis Lee Johnson supporting the measure.

JPs Jamye Barnes, Billy Bob Rhodes, Bill Virden, Leo Holleman Adron Hicks and Willie Wilson voted against the measure.

Some JPs want to wait to appropiate the money when it is truly needed - towards the end of 1996.

JPs were also given figures proving the value of computers and the need to make computer purchases by Lewis and the computer committee during the meeting.

Lewis told the JPs some computers had already been installed and some equipment was being utilized from the defunct Nevada County Hospital.

He told JPs an additional $3 million in personal property had been added to the county's books since the lists were put onto the books.

He said this would reflect as an additional $10,000 to county general next year, and about $70,000 to the county's schools.

Money to pay for the computers would come from the money spent in the past on some record keeping books - which the system will do away with by using the computers.

Other money would come from turnback money the schools would receive at the end of the year. This is less than $20,000.

Lewis' motion to pay the computer company's bill in full was tabled. The tax assessor's office and collector's office will use what money they have to pay on the bill at the present.

The county owes about $9,400 on the system and may owe more on training.

JPs were posed with an ordinance tabled after May's meeting which would require electrical companies to furnish the county with a list of all new utility hookups.

This ordinance will put all new homes, mobile homes and other buildings requiring the services on the books quicker, so the county can collect its full share of property taxes due.

The vote was split on this ordinance with Lewis, Holleman, Johnson, Virden and Clary voting to approve the measure.

JPs Barnes, Rhodes and Hicks voted against the measure. JP Wilson left the meeting before 8:00 p.m. - just before the vote.

County Judge John William Barham presented the group with a series of bills and money matters for the hospital building.

Barham told JPs the building had been added to the county's insurance.

Another decision was having the hospital added to Columbia Pest Control contract for about half of the price of the current contract the hospital had in place from a different company.

County employees will do a "walk through" to check on the building several times daily. This will relieve the employee currently doing the job twice daily for $125 weekly.

Barham said he was negotiating a trade-in on a mower after he had purchased a new mower to pull behind the hospital's Massey Ferguson tractor.

He said the mower was $1,590 but would probably not cost that much because they would be trading in the other mower.