Board approves friend-of-the-court staffing change after administrator clarifies cost impact

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners approved a staffing-change request for the Friend of the Court office after commissioners resolved a discrepancy about the cost impact.

Commissioner Bair said the document reviewed at committee listed the change as reducing costs by $3,589, but a subsequent email from the administrator corrected that to show the change would increase costs by $4,212. The correction prompted questions about which figure the board was approving.

The chair relayed that the Friend of the Court administrator assured him the increase would not affect the general fund and would be covered within the office's budget. Commissioners asked that the administrator's email be attached to the record to support the corrected figures. The board then approved the staffing change and the clerk posted the vote. The motion passed unanimously.