The Jefferson County Quorum Court met Monday night in what began with some contention due to two agendas being presented – one from the office of the County Clerk – and a second from the office of the County Judge.
All members were seated with the exception being Justice Alfred Carroll, who stood behind his spot at the table. Carroll stated that he could not participate in the meeting due to Robinson wanting to combine both agendas, in addition to advising other Justices to not participate in the meeting. He then went into the public seating area where he observed the beginning portions of the meeting.
When minutes from previous meetings were read and the floor was open for public comments Carroll attempted to speak saying he was now a member of the public and the floor was open for public comment. Robinson then told him to take his seat as a member of the Quorum Court and to quit being disrespectful. Following a brief back and forth between the two parties Carroll took his seat at the table.
County Judge Gerald Robinson spoke about the contention following the meeting.
Robinson said he believes the contention each month comes because certain justices want the county to pay their attorney fees and Robinson has not allowed that to happen.
Robinson continued by saying he believes Justice Alfred Carroll is contentious because he wants to be the County Judge.
The justices did discuss a transfer of money to establish bonus money to county employees employed on or before Feb 2025. The money would be a $1,000 bonus for full-time employees and a $500 bonus for part-time employees. The money would come from emergency reserve funds of 2024 budget from taxes collected from Saracen Casino.
Justice Conley Byrd motioned to table to next meeting so the justices could all discuss the matter more and understand exactly where the money would come from and how it would be paid out. Byrd’s motion was seconded by Justice Melanie Johnson-Dumas.
Some justices questioned about the legality of giving a bonus in such a way leading to Justice Carroll to say that he’s not sure of the legalities, but the county has “religiously given bonuses”.
Carroll went on to say that the money is there from casino money in emergency reserve funds and that the bonus is an attempt to reward them for their hard work and sacrifice and commitment to the county. Additionally, Carroll said that postponing the vote would just be “kicking can down the road”.
Justice Jimmy Fisher then asked if they could pull funds from the emergency reserve to pay bonuses why could they not pull money from the same reserved to fix county roads that are badly in need of repair.
Several justices then expressed their desire to provide bonuses to county employees, but they wanted to table the discussion until next month so they could all receive more input about the situation. The motion was then tabled with an 8-5 vote.
Robinson spoke about how the county usually provides bonuses.
The quorum court did pass one $7,000 appropriation for the County Assessor’s office. Robinson also gave his opinion on that matter.
One final matter was voted on before the meeting was adjourned. That matter was for an internal transfer of funds to provide money to help repair county roads to the sum of $445,185.83. The motion failed to pass with Justices Adams, Carroll, Dumas, Gaddy, Jackson, Johnson, Victorino, and Williams all voting no. Robinson gave his opinion on a motion to provide money for county roads yet again failing to pass.
