Graham County’s finance director Rebecca Garland refused to sign two lease agreements approved by the commissioners. The main reason was the terms extended beyond the current fiscal year, and the county had not appropriated funds to cover them. That made them illegal, and the Local Government Commission concurred with Garland’s stance.
More fascinating is that one of the leases was for a building the commissioners have long wanted the sheriff to occupy. The sheriff’s offices burned in May, and he set up shop in the Wachovia building. Three commissioners disapproved, and wanted him in the Millsaps building. Commissioner Andy Lynne stated the Millsaps building was “crazy for a sheriff’s office” because of its shortage of parking and “other factors.”
The other lease was for time clocks because it was alleged some employees were cheating on their time cards. Lynne noted if the problem was known to exist, then the perps were likely also known, and the county should be able to deal with them directly.
