By Ray King
Jefferson County Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. has filed suit against County Judge Gerald Robinson and members of the Quorum Court over a reduction in his budget for this year.
The suit was filed Monday in Jefferson County Circuit Court and in addition to Robinson. Names each of the 13 Justices of the Peace in their official capacity.
According to the lawsuit, Woods attended a pre-arranged meeting with Robinson to discuss the budget needs of the sheriff’s office, specifically the juvenile detention center. That meeting took place Oct. 28 and continued the next day. The lawsuit said that Woods and Robinson and their staffs left that meeting with an understanding of the budget needs and proposals that would be requested from the Quorum Court.
On Dec. 7, Woods said he received a copy of the proposed list of appropriations for 2022 and it included a reduction of money which had not been discussed at the meetings. The lawsuit said it was later determined that the reduction was $328,003.91 which reduced money for services such as supplies, medical records, food, etc.
The lawsuit went on to say that Woods is required to provide sufficient staff for the juvenile justice center and Robinson has talked about a $4 million surplus that has gone into various reserve funds, so the money is available to pay for Woods’ requests.
A subsequent request to adequately fund the juvenile detention center was made but to date, no response has been received.
Woods is asking the court to declare the 2022 County Budget ordinance unconstitutional and invalid and order the Quorum Court to adequately fund the sheriff’s office
