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First county budget hearing draws small crowd
Published Thursday, September 10, 2009
NATCHEZ — Much of the first public hearing to discuss the Adams County budget was occupied by Adams County Justice Court Judge Charlie Vess, as he outlined a myriad of problems facing the justice court.
Vess spoke at length on how he believed the justice court was unfairly treated in relation to the county’s other courts, the county’s dependence on the court’s fining power to support the county budget, the difficulty in collecting fines and the cramped quarters in his courtroom.
Vess told the supervisors he felt the justice court was the “kicking boy of the county.”
While the supervisors did acknowledge Vess’ complaints, the justice court’s inability to collect fines, approximately $40,000, earned the court a spot in the county’s revenues shortages list.
Adams County Supervisors’ President Henry Watts said he would make time to meet with Vess to discuss his concerns within the court and explore ways to better collect unpaid fines within the court system.
“It’s a cycle most of us are unhappy with,” Watts said.
Watts said if he were a judge, he would put more people in jail for failure to pay fines.
After Vess’ address to the board, only two county residents addressed the board with comments on the coming year’s budget.
While the budget will be subject to one more public hearing before the board votes to approve in on Sept. 15, current projections indicate the county will operate with a budget of approximately $26.2 million.
Of that money, approximately $13.6 million is derived from ad valorem taxes, $10.7 million comes from other revenues and $1.8 million comes from the county’s current cash balance.
The next opportunity county residents will have to discuss the budget in a public forum will be 9 a.m. Sept. 15 at the supervisors’ office on State Street.
Comments
Posted by beammeupscotty (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 6:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We the people have gave up. It is a waste of time and gas to go to one of these meetings of the Gods of Adams County.
Posted by OldGrandDad (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 6:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Judge Vess might have less court crowding (but also less fines) if we did not have some State Troopers trying to fill quotas by writing bogus tickets. Honestly, all it takes is one bad law officer doing one small bad deed to ruin a person's outlook on law enforcement. Sitting in court and watching the county prosecutor and judge "rubber stamp" the cop's actions tends to sour the situation even worse.
Posted by emt (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 8:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why go to the meeting, according to Mike Lazarus its a done deal:
"On Wednesday county residents will have an opportunity to discuss the millage with the supervisors in the first of two public meetings. And while the millage can still technically be changed, that likely won’t happen, Lazarus said. “I don’t think we’ll need to make any adjustments,” Lazarus said."
Reminds me of the old saying "don't confuse me with the facts my mind's made up!"
Posted by Lifeboat (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 8:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The confusion is that those taxpayers who are present are given a worksheet that highlights how much money is expected to be spent and how much money is expected to be taken in. When you ask for an itemized list of pork spending .....then the supervisors bow up and get afraid the "special interest" groups will not donate to their next election campaign!! Example budget contains $25000.00 for the Natchez Humaine Society (money to take care of stray dogs is needed for sure) but only $5000.00 to assist
battered women in our community. In other words dogs are 5 times more important than women beat up by thugs.
Shouldn't we give the women as much??
Posted by mrmojorisin (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 10:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Lifeboat, I'm with you.......but don't you know dogs have always been more important than people...just look at those commercials, all the dogs looking so sad.
One NFL player has dogfights at his house and gets a couple of years in jail...another one gets drunk, drives his car into a woman walking down the road killing her...he gets a night in jail and a fine!!
Maybe they need to do a commercial for battered women with blackeyes, and broken arms, and really sad faces...........Battered women should get twice what the Humane Society gets, whatever it is...........but then, nobody ever throws a gala cocktail party and soiree for battered women, do they? ............. and Natchez is all about the cocktail party, right?
And fix Charlie's court up, Henry. He's good for $80,000 a month on a slow month...I read that in the Democrat a couple of weeks ago. As far as uncollected fines? How does that happen? I thought you had to pay before you left the court room or go to jail. Or can't you mail in you fine ahead of time to save court costs and time.
And OGD, you kill me.......did you just get a ticket? LOL... I get upset everytime I get one, too...but when I really think about all the times I'm speeding, sneaking through red lights, driving thru stop signs without coming to a complete stop, drinking a beer on my way home from work, or pulling out of one of the drive thrus on my way to the lake with a Bloody Mary in my hand...well, I consider myself pretty lucky. Why? Because I know better. Sure, I know myself, I know what I can handle, I'm not putting anyone in any danger, but I've been driving for 40+ years, and I know driving on I-55 at 80 is against the law...especially when someone passes me like I'm sitting still.............
HA!...mojo
Posted by destiny (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 11:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
26 million to run, what some people would call, a hole in the wall?????? And they're still having to borrow money against next year. Plus the conditions of our streets, the sewage, etc, etc......... where is 26 MILLION dollars spent????
Posted by shelockholmes (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 12:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
destiny, you are getting the county confused with the city, the county did not borrow money against next year. In fact if you read the article again the county has $1.8 million in the end of the year cash balance, maybe they should lend money to the city.
Posted by OldGrandDad (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 12:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mojo, perhaps when it happens to you then you will understand. A ticket for doing wrong is one thing, but when you are stopped and given a ticket for wearing no seatbelt and you were buckled up since leaving the house, then all I can guess is that the cop needed desperately to fill a quota and did not mind being untruthful in order to meet his goal. And then when you go to court and find the officer, prosecutor and judge act as a well oiled machine that discredits you and then forces you to pay up......
Believe me - It affects how you perceive anyone working for the law.
Posted by beammeupscotty (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 1:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just because the person wears a uniform and badge doesn't make them honest. Cops get busted all the time, they just sweep most of it under the rug to protect their plastic image.
Posted by mrmojorisin (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 4:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sorry to hear that, OGD....... I always thought that quota stuff was a bunch of malarky. You really think they have a quota?
Sometimes they're just a bit overzealous...once when I lived in Florida, my youngest daughter was about 16 months old, I got pulled over by one such overzealous patrolman. She had unbuckled her car seat for about the 100th time and I had her wedged in behind my shoulder where my Mom used to put me and I'd put my older three daughters before her when there were no car seat laws. You see, the fancy $200 car seat we got her with all the straps coming together in the front for one harness buckle was designed for the parents ease not keeping the kid in.
So Barney Fife pulled me over and gave me a ticket, and a very stern lecture about endangering my baby's life. I told him I had ordered a new seat with a strap that locked under the damn thing where she couldn't get at it, but he wouldn't listen. But unlike you, I got a judge that listened. I took the car seat culprit and the baby to court, set it down in the middle of the floor and let the judge see how fast she could get out of it. The judge was about to forgive me and let me go when Barney spoke up again. He told the judge that what caught his eye about my particular situation was the fact that ...against Florida Stat Law, I had her in the passenger seat instead of the back seat. He was feeling really proud of himself with that save until I pointed out, on the ticket, the description of my car... I was driving a 500 SL Mercedes convertible that only has two seats.
The judge threw it out of court and admonished Officer Fife in front of the whole courtroom..........
That one was worth the price of admission............
--mojo
Posted by ntz143 (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 4:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
mojo, LMAO
Posted by OldGrandDad (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 4:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mojo, yep. That was a good 'un. And yes, I do think they have quotas. Either that or they get a cut of every ticket they write. I realize they (law enforcement) are not perfect and they have to put up with a lot of stuff. But the bad ones out there really sour me on the whole lot sometimes since the bad ones have often been protected by their workmates at some point.
Posted by OldGrandDad (anonymous) on September 10, 2009 at 8:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't you wish more of our law enforcement officers could be as righteous as this dude?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZW0gGKKY...
At least his foolish behavior was directed to skateboarders. That makes it understandable, doesn't it?
:)
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