Hinds Co. Supervisor Proposes Budget Cuts

A Hinds County Supervisor wants to make sure the county's future is financially secure.  At his first meeting as a Hinds County Supervisor, Kenneth Stokes is wasting no time making his mark.  He wants to create a reserve fund.  Stokes tells us, if they don't have one and there is an emergency, the county could go bankrupt.  He wants to take the money from the county’s largest department, which is the Sheriff's Department and the Courts.

"What I’m saying is we've got to spread the money, period.  The sheriff can't have all the money," comments Stokes.

But, Sheriff Tyrone Lewis says, county officials needs to look elsewhere for the funds.  His department is already strapped for cash.

"The sheriff's department, as it stands today, has a 21-million dollar budget.  It’s very inefficient compared to what we're accustomed to in law enforcement," rebuts Lewis.

Supervisor Stokes argues there needs to be cutbacks.

"There’s no way there can be 900-plus employees in Hinds County and over 500 work for the sheriff.  That’s just impossible," continues Stokes.

Stokes adds, the Sheriff's Department doesn't have enough crime in the rural areas to justify having a big budget.

"Most of the crime comes out of Jackson.  I’m not saying there's not small amounts of crime in the rural areas, but it's nothing compared to Jackson," recalls Stokes.

"Most of our problems are in the rural areas, and they don't have the manpower for their police departments to tackle and address crime the way they need to," Lewis tells News Channel 12.

Lewis says a big chunk of his budget goes to running the county's three jails.

When asked if employees could get laid off due to possible budget cuts, Lewis responds, "We don't know.  We know it would be a terrible blow to taxpayers of this county to affect their safety.”

Stokes suggests since the city of Jackson has more money in its budget, maybe it's time for them to get their own jail.

Both Lewis and Stokes agreed to re-assess their budgets before bringing it to the board for a decision.