The emergency meeting was held after the transfer was not placed on the regular agenda. County Clerk Donna Jamison told the commissioners the money had to be transferred by Wednesday in order to pay the utility bill for the courthouse by Friday.
Sallisaw provides all utilities except gas to the courthouse, and City Manager Bill Baker delivered a letter of intent to disconnect utilities for past-due bills to the county commissioners on April 6. City officials said county government is $2,937.44 and two months behind on their utility bill for the courthouse. The bill is for water, electricity and sewer service. The disconnect date was set for April 15, which is Friday.
At a special meeting April 6, Sheriff Johnny Philpot said he had funds in his personal services account to pay the utility bill to the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
The $10,000 transfer, already approved by Philpot, was approved by the commissioners.
District 1 Commissioner Bruce Tabor said after the meeting that he would like to proceed with requesting 10 percent of next fiscal year's budget as a cushion for other bills which may need to be paid before the end of the fiscal year. State law allows for a 10 percent appropriation from next year's budget.
"We'll have to ask for the 10 percent because we may have other bills come up," Tabor said. Tabor has said in the past that the county excise board would have to approve the 10 percent appropriation. "We don't know if they'll do that or not," he said.
The commissioners have been at odds with excise board members over the budget for the past three years. The budget questions are still tied up in court, and county officials are waiting on a decision from the State Supreme Court on their budget disagreement.
Larry Vinson, member of the Sequoyah County 9-1-1 board, told the commissioners that the board had approved a bid of $85,000 from the Eastern Oklahoma Development District (EODD) in Muskogee to do mapping and addressing for the 9-1-1 system which serves the central and west side of the county.
Vinson said, "The bid wasn't the lowest bid, but it was the best bid."
EODD normally arranges for and administers services and grants, but Vinson explained that, because of the mapping and addressing need by several 9-1-1 services, the agency has hired consultants to perform the service.
Sequoyah County 9-1-1 has received a grant to do the mapping and addressing. Vinson said when that is complete the 9-1-1 service will then spend about $50,000 to upgrade and maintain the equipment. The 9-1-1 board's plan is to eventually have SBC take over the service, which SBC will not do until the mapping and addressing are complete.
Vinson also urged residents to call their legislators and ask them to support HB 1751, which will levy about a 50-cent fee per month on cell phone bills. That fee will allow 9-1-1 services to add equipment so that 9-1-1 calls made on cell phones can be directed to the correct 9-1-1 office. He explained that, at the present time, a cell phone will direct the call using the nearest communications tower. In Sequoyah County those calls can be sent to LeFlore County, Muskogee County and even to Stilwell, Vinson said.
The county commissioners approved the hiring of Carrie Talley and Stephanie Choate by the Sequoyah County Health Department as temporary file clerks. They noted the health department is moving files and requested the temporary help.
They also approved the naming of a county road in the Central High area as Watts Road.
