NATCHEZ — In the coming weeks the Adams County Board of Supervisors will begin hours of meetings to construct the county budget, and those meetings won’t be open to the public.

Traditionally the board has cited discussion of personnel issues as the reason for entering executive session and kept most budget discussions closed to the public.

Supervisor Mike Lazarus said much of the budget talks relate to specific employees and must be done in executive session.

“We’re talking about specific issues related to employees,” Lazarus said. “We don’t want to talk about Sally Sue’s raise and have her and the whole county know why we voted against it. It’s not fair to the employees.”

Supervisor Darryl Grennell said discussing specific employees in open session could also open the board to legal action by the employees.

“We have to protect their rights,” Grennell said. “And we have to protect our own.”

Grennell said the budget is so closely tied to specific personnel issues that very few moments during the budget discussions are spent talking about anything else.

Jackson attorney Leonard Van Slyke, who specializes in open meetings laws, said the board should use caution in their budget discussions.

“If a matter can be discussed in open session, it must be,” Van Slyke said.

But the decision on whether or not to come out of executive session is one that only the supervisors can make.

Board attorney Bobby Cox said he was not present at any of last year’s budget meetings and has no plans to be at any of this year’s.

“If there’s no legal issue to discuss my presence is not required,” Cox said. “If (the board) has any questions or needs any advice they’ll call. It’s standard operating procedure.”

Supervisor Thomas “Boo” Campbell, like Grennell and Lazarus, agreed that while so much of the budget discussion involves personnel the talks should be in executive session.

And Campbell pointed out that the decisions made in the boardroom also impact the board.

“We’re dealing with our money, too,” Campbell said.

“The votes we make in there affect us.”

While most of the budget discussions will be done in executive session, the final budget must be adopted in open session.

The board must adopt the new budget by Sept. 15, at which time they’ll also set the millage rate.

The new budget goes into effect on Oct. 1.