A series of routine funding measures passed during Monday night’s Jefferson County Quorum Court meeting, but not without sharp debate and disagreements among several justices — disputes that ultimately led to one item being tabled.
The first contentious issue involved $5,115.87 to cover payments owed to George Stepps for his work with the Jefferson County Election Commission and to compensate him for the remainder of the year. Stepps is a full-time county employee who currently has payments owed to him by the County. The appropriation to pay Stepps passed 11–2, with Justices Alfred Carroll and Rick Victorino voting against it.
County Judge Gerald Robinson explained why the budget adjustment was needed.
Another measure sought to transfer $482,565 from emergency reserves to pay a solid waste contract that is more than 60 days delinquent, along with November’s payment. That item passed 12–1, with Carroll casting the lone “no” vote.
A request for $149,657.62 to pay off computer services for the county’s website and email systems — and to fund those services through 2025 — became the most divisive issue of the night. The motion failed after a majority voted to table it, including Justices Reginald Adams, Alfred Carroll, Melanie Dumas, Brenda Bishop-Gaddy, Reginald Jackson, Reginald Johnson, Rick Victorino, and Margarette Williams.
Part of the proposed funding would have paid Floyd Donald for video services used to record quorum court meetings. Carroll led the opposition, arguing that he disapproved of what members of the public and local radio hosts have said about him regarding his votes.
Robinson responded to that as well.
He continued with this.
Another item on the agenda involved a $6,000 request to eliminate negative line items for maintenance and services at the Jefferson County Health Department and to cover expenses for December. Before voting, Carroll questioned whether proper services were being provided.
$2,000 of the requested amount will bring the department out of the negative, and $4,000 would fund the remaining services for 2025. This payment will go to Demarius Mims, who oversees cleaning services for the county health department. The measure passed despite Carroll and Bishop-Gaddy voting no.
The meeting concluded with the announcement of a special called meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. to address the 2026 county budget in addition to other items that were not discussed Monday night.
