Sheriff: proposed budget cuts could cause lay-offs

by Doug Thompson

Floyd County Sheriff Shannon Zeman delivered more bad budget news to the board of supervisors Tuesday, saying proposed cuts in his department allocations could force him to lay off three part-time deputies.

The sheriff’s predictions comes on the heels of earlier warnings that rising gas prices combined with budget constraints might force him to reduce patrols or even park his patrol cars.

The warnings also came as Zeman told the board that the weeklong manhunt for escaped fugitive Steven Dale Branscome cost the county an additional $12,000 in overtime and other expenses.

“We’re facing budget problems,” Zeman said in his monthly report to the board at their regular monthly meeting in the county administration building Tuesday.  “We need to find some extra money or I will lose three valuable part-time deputies.”

The three part-time deputies, which include a retired State Trooper, serve as court bailiffs, fill in for other deputies and provide other needed services to the department, Zeman said.

Board chairman David Ingram told Zeman that the board would take a look at his department’s budget at a work session later this month to consider alterations to the county’s budget.

Zeman also gave the board a report on extra expenses his department incurred during the manhunt for Branscome, sought after allegedly wounding a Virginia State Trooper after a car chase that ended in West Virginia. The massive manhunt brought nearly 200 police officers into the county for a weeklong manhunt that included road blocks, armored personnel carriers and special tactical teams.

Zeman said the extra police activity cost his department $9,000 in overtime plus another $3,000 for food services and other expenses.  Other additional costs were paid by State Police, the agency in charge of the manhunt.  Branscome was later arrested at a motel in Texas and went before a judge in West Virginia last week, where he faces charges of malicious wounding, wanton endangerment and burglary. He also faces charges in Virginia and North Carolina along with probation violation counts in Floyd County.

In other action Tuesday, the board:

—Agreed to a two-fee structure for vehicle registrations in the county as part of the plan to eliminate windshield stickers while maintaining a fee for the non-existent stickers. Under the plan, vehicle owners would pay $25 a year for cars, pickups and motorcycles and $10 a year for trailers. Residents will pay the fee as part of their December personal property tax bills;

The board instructed county attorney Jim Cornwell to redraft the county’s vehicle tax ordinance to reflect the new fees and to show that the fees paid each December reflect the sticker cost for that year.

—Voted to change the name of the county’s Industrial Development Authority to the Economic Development Authority of Floyd County. The name change was proposed in part to recognize that economic development prospects for the county includes more than just bringing in industry;

—Agreed to continue participation Virginia Juvenile Community Crime Control Act;

—Agreed to support a bond issue for Ferrum College. The approval is necessary for the college to proceed with the bond issue and does not require any financial obligation from the county;

—Received a report from the county’s waste disposal office on ways to improve participation in recycling programs but took no action.

—Received a report showing 10 new subdivision plats approved for the county in April, bringing the year’s total to 45;

—Agreed to join the New River Valley Housing Consortium;

—Reappointed Richard Gregory to a three-year term on the New River Valley Community Services Board;

—Reappointed Mark A. Sowers to a four-year term on the Floyd County Planning Commission;

—Reappointed Darlene Alderman to a four-year term on the New River Community College Board;

—Reappointed Doug Thompson to a one-year term on the New River Alcohol Safety Action Program advisory board.