ONE SUPERVISOR’S proposal to hire the Mississippi auditor’s office to conduct a performance audit of county positions has twice been rejected by the Hinds County Board of Supervisors.

District Four Supervisor Phil Fisher recently told members of the North Jackson Lions Club that the audit is needed to help the county save money and run more efficiently. He questioned the motives of the board members not supporting the plan now after backing it when it was first presented to them in March 2008.

But District One Supervisor Robert Graham, a Northsider and initial supporter of the audit, said he backed off of his support because it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars and could cost summer jobs for teens, something Graham doesn’t want to see, especially during a recession.

He said he and other board members have nothing to hide, but have a difference of opinion, adding that Fisher’s comments about board members were not appropriate in a public setting. “I originally supported it, but I didn’t have all of the information I needed,” Graham explained. “We have an auditor on staff and people we pay to do this already.”

And last year, the board brought on another official to help in making county government run smoother as well. When the term began last year, the board hired Vern Gavin as county administrator. “We tasked him to conduct an assessment of every job in the county,” Graham said. “When the audit was brought up for a second vote, I didn’t think Gavin had the time he needed to fulfill his responsibility.”

NO TIME FRAME has been set for completing what is being called a job classification, but Graham said it could result in hiring new employees, combining positions or moving workers to departments where needed.

“This has nothing to do with the state auditor’s office and we welcome them to work with us in any capacity they want,” Graham noted. The review would cost taxpayers approximately $35,000, funds that would come from Fisher’s budget. That money typically is set aside for a summer job program for teenagers.

The board initially voted 5-0 to support the audit in March 2008. The auditor’s office began work, but by the fall, the board changed their opinion and voted 3-2 in favor of terminating the process. The issue was brought up for consideration again in May 2009 with little success. Members voted 2-2 in favor of re-starting the audit, Fisher said.

He and Peggy Calhoun, district three supervisor, voted in favor of the measure. Graham and District Two Supervisor Doug Anderson voted against it. District Five Supervisor George Smith abstained.

Fisher doesn’t plan to bring the matter up for another vote in the near future. But he, along with other county leaders, will have an opportunity to review the job classification once it’s finished by Gavin.

“By no means are we attempting to circumvent the auditor, but there are a lot of things we can catch ourselves,” Gavin explained.

FOR THE 2008-09 fiscal year, the county has a $71 million budget. Sixty percent of those funds are used for personnel salaries and benefits. An additional $6 million will be added to county coffers next year as a result of the recent property reappraisals, which caused taxes to skyrocket on the Northside.

Of that, Fisher told the 20 or so lions in attendance that the majority of those new funds, about $4.22 million, will go toward workforce costs. The rest will likely be divided among other programs.

Gavin, who serves at the will of the board, is essentially in charge of the county’s 1,080 employees. He is in the early stages of the job classification project and is working with department heads to obtain information and gauge needs. “Once we collect the data, we will make an assessment of whether to keep or amend the positions to meet the needs of the county,” he explained.

“Our objective is not to cut jobs, but to be more effective,” he said. Gavin, who was hired on March 3, 2008, said it’s too early to tell if any positions will be cut or modified.