County commission approves budget, K-9 purchase for sheriff

The Jackson County Commissioners have approved the county’s 2018 budget and allocated $7,000 in alcohol prevention funds to purchase a new police dog for the sheriff’s office.

A budget hearing was held during a recent commission meeting to discuss and approve the 2018 budget. No one from the public attended the meeting, it was reported.

The commissioners approved the budget as presented, which is funded by 76.836 mills, a .786 mill decrease from last year.

With an increase in the county’s assessed valuation, the county is expected to collect $8,739,959 in local taxes, which is up $335,410 from last year’s total of $8,404,549.

Also during the recent meeting, Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse met with commissioners and requested funding to purchase a new police dog for his office.

One of the office’s current canines, Bak, a German Shepherd, has become too aggressive towards his handler and has become a liability. Bak has been with the sheriff’s office for three years.

Morse said that Bak was trained and purchased from Hill Country Dog Center in Pipe Creek, Texas, and center representatives have agreed to take back the dog and credit the sheriff’s office $2,500 for the purchase of a new dog.

Morse said that, with the credit, a new canine will cost his office an additional $7,000, for a total of $9,500, and he requested alcohol prevention funds for the purchase. The commissioners approved the purchase.

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