The Russell County Fiscal Court is continuing to examine how it could include hazardous duty retirement for sheriff’s deputies into the county budget.
At yesterday’s fiscal court meeting, the first reading of the county’s roughly $14.5 million dollar budget was held. The budget did not yet include the hazardous duty retirement.
During the meeting, Magistrate Mickey Garner, who sits on the court’s budget committee, told Sheriff Derek Polston the sheriff’s office would need to convert to fee pool for the court to approve hazardous duty in the budget.
Under a fee pool system, moneys that come into the sheriff’s office are not spent out through the sheriff’s office. Instead, that money is turned over to the county treasurer, who would pay invoices and other expenses.
Polston said that was something he would have to look at and think about.
Magistrates reaffirmed their belief that deputies should have hazardous duty, but said the question remains how it would be funded.
Judge Executive Randy Marcum said the county also has to consider looming increases in liability insurance and worker’s compensation. He added the fiscal court could have a special-called meeting in the near future regarding hazardous duty and the budget.
Implementing the hazardous duty plan would cost the county an additional $60,000 to $90,000 annually depending on the number of deputies, according to numbers supplied to WJRS News back in October.
Yesterday was just the first reading of the budget, so no vote was taken.
