Jackson Free Press

Hinds County will soon be down to three members on its Board of Supervisors. With the death of District 2 Supervisor Doug Anderson earlier this year and the departure of District 4 Supervisor Phil Fisher, the new Clinton mayor--and given another supervisor's penchant for tardiness--the five-member board could lack the necessary quorum to call a meeting to order.

This week, in a surprise move, supervisors attempted to fill the District 2 vacancy. Fisher nominated Darrel McQuirter, the county's planning and zoning director, for the post, and District 3 Supervisor Peggy Hobson-Calhoun seconded the motion to put the matter up for a vote.

However, Board of Supervisors President Robert Graham refused to recognize the motions because, he said, he has been out of town and has not reviewed the applications of all interested candidates. Graham added that it would not be fair if the board made an appointment before he had time to consider all the candidates.

Hobson-Calhoun said the board has had ample time to consider applications, and noted the deadline to submit resumes for the positions passed earlier this month.

"I see this as an attempt to stall the process," Hobson-Calhoun said.

Several members of the audience asked to address the supervisors, but Graham rebuffed their requests as well as Hobson-Calhoun's insistence that the individuals be allowed to speak. At least two other candidates--community activist David Archie and Pastor Gus McCoy--have announced their candidacies for the seat. Graham told Hobson-Calhoun that she was out of order, and angrily banged his gavel several times. Later in the meeting, District 2 Justice Court Judge Ivory Britton asked the board to reconsider making an interim board appointment.

"We are terribly underserved by not having a supervisor in that seat," Britton said of residents of his district. Graham continued to deny discussion on the issue. "This is not a public forum," he said.

If the matter winds up in court, Hinds will be well prepared. In a matter unrelated to the choosing of supervisors, three Hinds County departments that handle court cases received a funding bump this week. Supervisors agreed to provide $95,000 this year to the offices of Hinds County Attorney Sherri Flowers, District Attorney Robert Smith and County Court Judge William Skinner.

Flowers, whose office prosecutes misdemeanor cases in Hinds County filed in justice court, requested $60,000 for an additional prosecutor and to increase the salary of her part-time legal assistant, who now makes $12,000 per year, Flowers said.

Smith, the county's chief prosecutor, requested $30,000 to prosecute cases, and Skinner, who handles youth-court cases, requested that the county provide funding for the youth drug court. Skinner said the Legislature reduced the court's funding to $115,000 this year, and that the state funding will decrease further next year, to $75,000.

Skinner said he sent letters to Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Speaker Philip Gunn requesting a special session to restore the program's funding. Skinner said treating an offender through the county's drug court costs $7.89 per day, compared to the $49.76 per day the Mississippi Department of Corrections pays to house prisoners.

"We don't punish kids at youth drug court; we're all about treatment," Skinner told supervisors.

Supervisors agreed 4-0 to provide all of the requested additional funds, which will come from the county's cash surplus of $523,000.