The Marshall County Commissioners will be meeting Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET in the Commissioners Room where they are expected to discuss several agenda items.
One item the Commissioners discussed during their last meeting was the contract with Great Lakes Laboratories. The company is contracted to process all drug submissions submitted when police take samples for evidence. The proposed contract for this year is $82,000 – double the amount of the previous contract.
Prosecutor Dave Holmes explained that 547 drug cases were investigated in 2012 which was a substantial increase from previous years. He noted that the heightened amount of samples can be attributed to the increase in synthetic marijuana and other drugs. Marshall County is among the top five in methamphetamine production in the state.
Holmes told the commissioners that he is trying to limit the number of submissions only if a case goes to trial.
The new contract places a limit of 175 cases and 700 exhibits.
The Commissioners approved a motion to only spend $82,000 for a two-year contract as that item was not projected for the 2013 budget. The Prosecutor had budgeted $42,000 for the contract, but the other half would need to be paid for by an additional appropriation which isn’t available. The commissioners will discuss this contract again during budget time.
