The Carroll County Board of Supervisors are having to foot the bill for a deputy that was trained at a different agency before being hired with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department.
Chancery Clerk Sugar Mullins said the City of Kosciusko sent over an $8,600 bill for training, salary and other fees incurred while Zack Reddit was an officer with the department. Adam Eubanks said Reddit had been with Carroll County almost a year and was hired after working for a short period of time in Kosciusko.
Board attorney Kevin Horan said the law states that the City of Kosciusko must pay half and the board of Supervisors must pay half because Redditt left Kosciusko before serving three years.
“The order states that if an officer leaves one department and goes to another one, 50 percent of that is paid out by the agency and the rest must be reimbursed by the second agency.”
Horan said because the City of Koscuisko paid for Reddit’s training, the city must pay a portion, and because he was hired by Carroll County, the board of supervisors must pay the rest.
“Were we aware of this when it happened?” Supervisor Terry Brown asked Eubanks.
“No sir, we were not. We just didn’t know,” Eubanks said. “We’ve never had an agency to bill us before.”
Mullins asked if this is the first time this has happened. Eubanks said they have people that are hired from a different agency.
“We’ve never been billed for it,” Eubanks said.
“You would’ve had to pay for it anyway,” Horan answered.
“Was this deputy spread on the minutes when he was hired?” Supervisor Claude Fluker asked.
“Yes,” Eubanks answered.
Horan said he didn’t feel the county owed the entire amount Kosciusko is requesting and sent back a request for a reduced amount.
“If they feel that we owe the other $2,100, then they’re going to have to explain to me why they did get reimbursed for it from the state. They shouldn’t get $8,000 if the actual expenses are $4,000.”
Board president Rickie Corley asked if Horan thought that Kosciusko would seek legal action if they didn’t agree.
“Well, if they can prove that we owe it, I’ll come back and ask the board for the rest,” he said.
The board also:
• Approved hiring Holmes County Prosecutor Charles Edwards, upon his approval, as a special prosecutor in the case of Mandie Hughes in the Carroll County Justice Court, Northern District. Hughes is accused of felonious deed fraud. County prosecutor Lori Bell cannot take the case because of a conflict of interest.
• Approved releasing Shelia McGee and her daughter to purchase tags after it was discovered the unpaid garbage bill in the amount of $3,000 belonged to her brother, Charles Gayden and not her.
The family has property in the same vicinity and shared the same address, when Gayden had a mobile home on the property. McGee said he hasn’t had a mobile there in over 20 years.
