NATCHEZ &8212; Even with 72 new voting machines being delivered later this week courtesy of state government, Adams County needs 40 more machines to handle peak voter traffic.

That&8217;s according to Election Commissioner Larry Gardner, who spoke to county supervisors during their Monday meeting.

So supervisors agreed to buy 40 machines at a cost of $124,700 total, on a plan that would defer payments until next year.

&8220;We&8217;re just going to have to include that amount in next year&8217;s budget and see if there are other places we can cut,&8221; supervisors President Darryl Grennell said later.

The new machines are required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002, a federal law intended to eliminate some of the election snafus that plagued Florida in the tight 2000 presidential election.

The federal law says every precinct in the state must have at least one handicapped-accessible voting machine.

The federal government is paying 95 percent and the state is paying 5 percent of the cost of the first 72 machines plus training and technical support.

But Gardner recommended the county have 40 more machines, adding that &8220;the county has to buy them before Feb. 28 in order to get the best prices&8221; &8212; $3,117.50 each, under the state&8217;s bulk rate.

However, a bill before the Mississippi Legislature would divert $6 million from corporate filing fees from the Secretary of State&8217;s Office to help pay for additional machines.

Under that bill, Adams County&8217;s cut would be about $84,000 to pay for 26 of the additional machines.

Supervisors passed a resolution Monday in support of the bill as passed by the House.

Hopefully, the bill will pass &8220;and we won&8217;t have to pay all of that cost,&8221; Grennell said. &8220;But regardless, we have to have the machines to comply with HAVA.&8221;

Gardner also said during Monday&8217;s meeting that it may take voters longer to vote with the new touch-screen machines.

Given that, Grennell said, &8220;We&8217;ll need more machines to accommodate everyone.&8221;

Also during Monday&8217;s meeting supervisors:

4Heard a presentation from Tylertown-based rodeo promoter J.C. Kitaif, who plans to bring a Pro Rodeo event to the county in March.

4Voted to allow Grennell to sign a contract with the Southwest Mississippi Planning and Development District to build a Web site for the county.

4Heard from Federal Emergency Management Agency representative Roger Smith that the county has until March 15 to get work on hanging trees, limbs and other debris from last year&8217;s hurricanes taken care of.

The projects must be approved and completed by that date in order to get 100 percent reimbursement from FEMA, Smith said.