Funding for work at the Pulaski County Justice Center will apparently be appropriated one bill at a time. Earlier this month, Maintenance Director Mia Salyers told the county commissioners that the building’s fire alarm upgrades ended up costing $10,000 more than expected and Sheriff Jeff Richwine had offered to cover about $6,700 of that out of his department’s Misdemeanant Fund.
But when Richwine asked the county council for permission to use the Misdemeanant money last week, he only requested $998.75. “I asked Mia to send me the bills. We got this bill, so we run in through to get it paid,” Richwine explained. “It doesn’t matter to me. It’s whatever you guys want to do.”
Council Member Kathi Thompson asked if it would make more sense to appropriate the entire amount at once. “If we know the bills are coming and it costs us to advertise, why wouldn’t we wait until we had all the bills and then advertise it all at one time, rather than spend the money twice?” she asked.
“Maybe this guy needs to be paid,” Council Member Rudy DeSabatine replied.
An additional appropriation is not a payment, but just permission to spend a certain amount of money beyond what’s in the budget. Richwine explained that Misdemeanant Fund money is generally not budgeted, but appropriated as-needed when emergencies arise. Council members unanimously agreed to advertise the $998.75 additional appropriation request for future consideration.
