"We were mislead by 911, I want it to end. I feel
we have not had a fair shake with truthfulness." These were statements
made by sheriff Tim Guider at Monday's commission meeting. The
commission was presented with a possible settlement agreement that would
end the legal action brought by the Sheriff after the budget committee
refused to grant all the Sheriff's demands in the previous budget
process. The Sheriff stated that he was
mislead by 911 on the number of and increase of calls he had previously
reported to the commission prompting the need for additional money and
manpower. The Sheriff was to check with his attorney Tuesday, and if all
goes well, he has agreed to settle the law suit if the commission agrees
to provide his department with one more new police cruiser. All but one
commissioner voted to settle the suit for the additional car.
Commissioner Maples, voting NO, raised concerns about the process that
brought the commission to this point. She was not happy that the Sheriff
had put them in this position. While other commissioners voted for the
settlement several echoed the concerns raised by commissioner Maples.
The general consensus of the commission was, in the long run it would be
cheaper to settle than to continue to incur additional legal fees. All
legal fees generated by the lawsuit by both the Sheriff and the county
will be paid by the tax payers. |