Court discusses county’s finances

PRESCOTT – Aside from giving permission to have county attorney Ben Hale draw up an ordinance for the Falcon Cemetery, the Nevada County Quorum Court did no business during its July meeting Tuesday evening.

Instead, the justices spent the majority of the meeting discussing the county’s financial problems. Pat Grimes pointed out almost $23,000 was taken from the Solid Waste department for payroll, with $10,000 going to the jail. She told the court the county needs to tighten its belt an quit spending money where it doesn’t need to be spent. “We’ve got to cut back,” she said. “We took $25,000 from the trash fees but when we agreed to do it, we said i was for trash pickup and to operate the landfill. This county doesn’t have the money to run if we don’t tighten our belts.”

Grimes added the COVID relief money is now down to $43,000 from more than $60,000.

County Treasurer Lisa Loe pointed out $13,000 went to road and bridge and $10,000 went to the jail from the solid waste department.

Bob Cummings, acting in place of Nevada County Judge Mark Glass, said he’s talked to the jail and the one who does the billing now is getting the bills sent out, where the last person didn’t. He added the state recently raised the amount it’s paying for inmates per day, which should help, adding the jail is pretty much full at this time.

The county clerk, Grimes said, pays the tickets and needs to make sure what’s being bought is what’s needed.

Julie Oliver, county clerk, said she doesn’t pay the bills until the county has the money and sometimes they’re delinquent.

Changing the subject, Cummings said the trash fee account is off as funds aren’t being collected. He told the court Robbie Franks is checking addresses to make sure people live there. Franks said the majority of places he’s been are either empty lots or falling down houses.

Going back to her original topic, Grimes said all departments need to cut back because of inflation. “We can’t keep robbing other areas to pay bills.”

In the committee reports, Jamie Hillery, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber recently held the county’s 150th anniversary, adding it turned out well and a time capsule was buried in front of the courthouse. Next month, she said, a permanent marker will be put up by the capsule. Hillery said it would be nice if the entire quorum court would be in a photo when this occurs.

She closed saying the Chamber is working on this year’s Fall Festival and Trade Days.

There was no discussion when Oliver said a motion was required to have Hale draw up an ordinance for the Falcon Cemetery. It passed.

Debbie Henderson, administrator for the Nevada County Health Unit (NCHU), asked about an engineer for the drive through proposed for the NCHU’s flu and COVID clinics. Cummins asked if the drive through could be build without an engineer and if it could be made shorter.

Henderson said Mary Godwin, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, is the one who said an engineer is needed.

Cummings told her he’d talk to his sister about it, adding the drive through will be funded with COVID money.

He continued saying the county had a truck go down and it’s been recommended the county not have it repaired. This truck, a one-ton vehicle, has been used to haul a backhoe around and wasn’t designed for the workload. Cummings said the county needs to use some of the COVID money to buy a new two-ton truck for the job, or possibly a flatbed that could haul five yards of dirt or gravel while towing the backhoe.

Grimes asked if there’s any reason the city and county can’t work on the NCHU project as it will benefit those in both the city and county.