By Ray King
Financial woes were on the minds of Lincoln County Justices of the Peace when they met Monday night.
According to the Lincoln Ledger newspaper, County Treasurer Lisa McGehee said the county general fund is expected to be short about $23,500 each month because of a reduction in state turn-back funds. Because businesses have been closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, sales tax collections are down.
According to McGehee, Quorum Court approval is necessary for any purchase over $1,000, with gasoline/diesel fuel for the road department and sheriff’s department exempt from that requirement. The newspaper reported that McGehee predicted that when the county gets their turnback funds in July, they will be cut about 15 percent and the road department could receive about 50 percent of the funds they normally receive.
Also at the meeting, the Quorum Court voted to waive late fees for solid waste collections until June 1st because of people being out of work because of the COVID-19 virus.
County Judge Buddy Earnest also reported on the new jail facility which will be constructed near the city dump/county highway department site. Ground was broken for that facility April 14 and according to Earnest, construction is expected to take about 14 months. Work on the foundation was put off because of rains and will begin as soon as the location is dry.
Earnest also said he has declared Lincoln County a disaster area because of heavy damage from the storm on April 12 and has documented damages which he said he sent to FEMA. He asked anyone with homes or businesses who were damaged to contact him so that the list can be
