MOUNT VERNON —Jefferson County Board Chairman Robert White will sit down with Second Judicial Circuit officials to discuss a solution to the financial burden placed on the county by late state reimbursement.
As part of an earlier agreement with the chief judge of the circuit, the county, which was the most populous in the circuit when the agreement was made several years ago, provides upfront payroll payment of the circuit's probation officers and is then reimbursed for most of the cost by the state, with the 12 counties in the circuit picking up the rest of the tab.
However, the state's habitual tardiness in making payments has led to a past due amount of more than $450,000, and could lead to an undue burden on the county's finances, Jefferson County Board Chairman Robert White said.
"We've had a lot of growth and expansion in Jefferson County and we're doing pretty well, but we've had a couple of scares: three-payroll months and late payments from the state had us sweating bullets a few times," he said.
Those scares prompted the county to set a deadline of Wednesday to either receive payments from the state or begin to take steps to turn the payroll processing over to Franklin County, the most populous county in the circuit as of the 2010 U.S. Census.
"The state is months behind and that puts Jefferson County government in a bind," Second Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Stephen G. Sawyer said. "I understand the difficulty that poses to them. Franklin County has the same difficulty as far as state reimbursement."
Franklin County processes payroll and benefits for the juvenile detention center, which is also under the authority of the Second Judicial Circuit, and has a similar problem with state reimbursement.
Sawyer said he plans to meet with White and the circuit's probation and court services director to discuss options. - http://bit.ly/HDEmK5
