GOSNELL -- Members of the Gosnell City Council recently noticed an uptick in the city's amount of jail fees, and said at Monday's Finance Committee meeting that this was a good problem to have.
"I don't like the amount of fees we're having to pay for people misbehaving," said Councilman Eric Blount. "But this does show that our police force is being very proactive in bringing people to the court system. Obviously, we're going to have to budget some more for that, but it's two-sided. Our police force is doing a good job, but we also have a lot of people in town not abiding by the law."
Nita Reams agreed that if the city has to be over budget in any area, this is the best one.
Reams also asked for clarification on how tight a watch Mayor Don Marshall is keeping over each city department's budget.
"I know we've got a pretty tight budget," she said. "I'm just hoping that the mayor is having monthly meetings with departments to go over their budgets and make sure they know where they are throughout the year. It sounds like he's keeping everyone aware, we just need to know for sure that they understand when they need to cut back, when it's not even halfway through the year and some of these budgets are running out. We have to remember to run this city like a business."
Blount said he knew the mayor to be very conscientious about spending, but that when running a city, unexpected costs were bound to occur.
City Clerk Cathy Hogan was also asked by the committee to departmentalize the general fund to reflect individual spending for the police and fire departments, which before had not been separated.
Questions were also asked about when the city will stop charging citizens for mosquito control. The council voted to not renew its contract with Vector Disease Control for the upcoming season, and the current contract is up this month. Hogan made a note to make sure that the contract was officially canceled and the billing would stop.
sharris@blythevillecourier.com