PEXELS

Supervisors for Lincoln County again saw an agenda item for their regular meeting that could be leading to a troubling, expensive trend for taxpayers.

The board had no choice but to approve two requests for payment because of state and federal mandates, but authorized Board Attorney Greg Malta to pursue a more fiscally responsible solution.

They approved an order for fees to Price Henley in the amount of $11,556.50 for representation in an adoption proceeding and then approved an order for a parent representative’s fees in the amount of $7,312 for representation in the same adoption.

Malta explained to the board that the county is required to provide representation to biological parents in adoption cases where their parental rights are terminated if they are found to be indigent based on a pauper’s analysis through the chancery court.

If it is determined they can’t afford a lawyer, the chancery court appoints a lawyer for them, and also for the child involved.

This was the third time in recent months to see these types of requests on the agenda, which is a concern for Malta. He suggested the county should explore other options, such as asking youth court public defenders to add certain chancery cases to their case load with a salary increase to compensate for the additional work.

Lincoln County already pays for a full-time youth court guardian ad Litem, a court-appointed advocate who represents the best interests of a minor child during legal proceedings.

Malta suggests adding Chancery to her load with additional compensation.

The county also employs four public defenders. Three work exclusively in Circuit Court with felony cases, while a fourth covers Justice Court and Youth Court.

“I think it’s not unreasonable to add Chancery Court for him,” Malta said. “Even if you had to pay the public defenders more money, it’s going to be a whole lot cheaper than $11,000 at a pop.”

“I certainly want what’s in the best interest of the kids,” District 4 Supervisor Eli Ferguson said. However, he agrees to options to lower the cost for the county and taxpayers.

He is concerned the county may be charged a “market price” for services, instead of a cash price that the parents would have been charged if they had not been determined to be indigent.

District 1 Supervisor Rev. Jerry Wilson’s concern is with the amount of a salary increase the board will offer.

“How much money are we talking about raising them up?” Wilson asked. “Those dollars are constantly going up, going up. I mean, we don’t want to rubber stamp anything.”

Malta plans to speak to Chancery Judge Joseph Durr with one of the supervisors to represent the board.

“Let me talk to the judge and negotiate it for you,” he told Wilson.