Meeting roundup: supervisors approve routine minutes, mailing estimate, engineer contract signature and EMS memorial bench; gift‑card claim held for clarifying

At its Jan. 26 meeting the Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors approved routine business items and several claims and contracts.

The board approved the published agenda and minutes from Jan. 19 and Jan. 20. Supervisors approved an estimated $7,007.07 printing and mailing cost for statutorily required property‑tax hearing notices under House File 718; postage is prepaid by the county. The board also authorized the chair to sign the county engineer's office construction contract after staff confirmed builders‑risk insurance and routine change‑order language.

The EMS director requested payment for a memorial bench from the EMS donation fund. The vendor must reissue the invoice to name the county correctly; once the corrected invoice is received staff may process the claim for $1,003.95. The board approved payroll dated Jan. 23 and moved to approve group claims that include the bench claim after the invoice is corrected.

A separate item drew additional scrutiny: seven $100 gift cards charged against a VA grant (coded to the VA grant and listed as "present for volunteers"). A supervisor asked whether $700 coded to the VA grant satisfied the county‑purpose rule. Staff explained the gift cards were intended for volunteer drivers who transport veterans to the VA and that the cards would be restricted for clothing items (shirts and jackets) tied to the volunteers' duties. The board asked staff to clarify vendor coding and purpose before processing the claim.

What’s next: Staff will obtain the corrected invoice for the bench and will clarify the VA‑grant claim with the department prior to payment.