NATCHEZ — Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield is looking for funding to hire four additional deputies to patrol the streets of Natchez.

Mayfield made his plea to the Adams County Board of Supervisors Monday during the board’s budget meeting, which included similar funding requests from various agencies in the area.

Apart from the salary for the deputies, Mayfield also asked for funding to pay for vehicles for each of the potentially new staff members.

“We are answering a ton more calls in the city then we use to,” Mayfield said. “We are stretched thin.”

County Administrator Joe Murray said the new deputies would cost the county roughly $48,000 a year, not including vehicles.

Currently, ACSO has three deputies on duty during a shift, and the sheriff’s office has a total of four shifts.

Mayfield said an additional deputy on a shift would help in situations where two deputies are required at a location.

“They are overworked, they don’t sit around on their butts doing nothing,” Mayfield said.

District 1 supervisor Mike Lazarus said the only way to afford this expansion is to increase millage rates, which would increase the amount of taxes Adams County residents pay for their property.

Another issue brought forward by the sheriff included building holding areas for people with mental health issues who are potentially suicidal.

To properly handle such cases, Mayfield said he would need staff with medical training, as well as more holding cells.

The board discussed renovating part of the juvenile detention center for a case of lunacy, but Mayfield does not think it should fall under his jurisdiction.

“It’s a medical problem, not a criminal problem,” Mayfield said. “I don’t understand why we are the holding facility.”

In other news:

• Mary Lessley asked for a $10,000 donation for the Natchez Festival of Music.

Lessley cited the growing size of the festival as the primary reason for the funding request.

Ticket sales and fundraisers normally fund the music festival, but Lessley wants to move away from that model.

“If we can get commitments out of our elected officials and city officials, we can move forward,” Lessley said. “And ticket sales can just be an icing on the cake.”

Board President Darryl Grennell said he would like to see the board pledge $5,000 to the festival.

• Jennifer Ogden Combs with the Natchez Tricentennial committee requested a $50,000 sponsorship from the board as a platinum supporter.

Combs, who is helping organize the City of Natchez’s 300th birthday celebration, said she wants the tri-centennial in 2016 to be a jumping off point for Adams County’s bi-centennial in 2017.

“We are strategically placed,” Combs said.

• Nancy Hungerford with the Natchez Children’s Home gave a presentation to request funding for the Children’s Advocacy Center located in Natchez.

Hungerford asked for $16,000 to help maintain a grant in which the CAC is required to raise 25 percent of the total amount of the grant.

The CAC services Adams and surrounding counties. The center is designed for children who have been physically or sexually abused to only be questioned once for court proceedings. Grennell said the board would be willing to provide part of the funding, but the organization’s members will have to get the rest from the other counties they serve.

• The board will continue budget discussions with another meeting at 8 a.m. Wednesday.