NATCHEZ — The Adams County Board of Supervisors grilled three members of the local judiciary Wednesday about their requests for funds in the coming fiscal year.

The board has had two planning sessions for the 2014-2015 budget, which has to be completed by September. In the session Wednesday, the supervisors met with Circuit Judge Lillie Sanders, Justice Court Judge Charlie Vess and County Court Judge John Hudson.

Sanders said she has adjusted the formula for how her court is funded and will be asking for more from other counties, decreasing Adams County’s input from 55 percent to 35 percent.

The drug court program, however, needs $40,000 to complete its $200,000 operating costs, she said. It’s the same amount the court received last year.

“I believe we used to have a 70 percent retention rate, but we are probably down to 60 percent now — if I have 10 people who graduated, six are doing well,” she said. “We get these people off the streets, and instead of being housed here by the county or the state, they are now taxpayers. Ninety percent of drug court participants are working.”

The need for the money comes because grant funding has been cut, Sanders said.

Supervisor David Carter said grant programs reducing money as they proceed seems to be a common problem for the county.

“They will start out finding and then cut back and cut back, leaving it to the county, and eventually you can only go so deep before (the county) has to cut,” he said.

When Sanders said the program had six graduates last year, Supervisor Mike Lazarus said the price tag on the program seemed steep.

“I have family members who have had drug problems, and rehab doesn’t always take the first time,” he said.

Sanders said the county has not paid for rehabilitation services for drug court participants in two years. Those who have gone to rehab have done so because they found the funds themselves, she said.

“I tell them you have two choices, you can pay or you can go,” she said. “A lot of times family members step up to the plate.

“We are using this money to pay for drug testing and to buy supplies. We provide counseling services for them, we meet with them and we are not extravagant.

County Administrator Joe Murray said other counties in the circuit court district owe the court money.

Murray said giving more money to one program means another county program has to give up funding.

“When you take this money from (Natchez-Adams Metro Narcotics), you are taking money from these people who are working to take these drugs off the street,” he said.

Sanders said the drug court actively works with Metro.

“We don’t take dealers in drug court, but we take addicts,” she said.

Lazarus said he would rather close the drug court down.

“I know people who are addicted make poor decisions, but they were sober when they made that decision to take those drugs or that alcohol,” he said.

Supervisor Angela Hutchins said the matter is more complicated than just a decision to take drugs.

“You don’t know why they made that decision,” she said.

The supervisors did not comment about about what their ultimate decision might be regarding drug court funding.

When Vess appeared before the supervisors, he asked the board to increase funding for legal fees, a small stipend for drug testing and funding for courtroom expansion.

Vess said the court could use an increase in legal fees because times arise when the two public defenders appointed to Justice Court are not enough. The county has 11 public defenders in all.

“What we used to do — and this is a more common sense approach — is that when I appoint you an attorney for a felony, that lawyer that is appointed in justice court stays with you all the way though the grand jury and through the circuit court,” Vess said. “That way I’ve got access to all 11 attorneys.”

The judge said he would like the stipend for drug testing because Justice Court sometimes allows indigent people to work off their fines through a county work program.

“I am very reluctant to put someone who is charged with a misdemeanor (in the program) if they are on drugs,” Vess said.

Vess likewise brought up an issue that has been raised several times through the years, a possible expansion of the Justice Court courtroom.

The courtroom only allows a few people in at a time,  while everyone else who has business with the court has to stand in the hall or even the sidewalk in front of the building.

The metal detector has been removed from the building, which could lead to security issues, Vess said.

“I have the power to issue an order to upgrade the courtroom, but I haven’t,” he said.

Supervisors President Darryl Grennell said it’s possible the County Court’s courtroom, which is much larger than Justice Court, could be used by the Justice Court on some days.

“I wish we had the power of issuing an order for that, but we don’t,” Grennell said.

After the meeting, the board’s attorney, Scott Slover, said he had arranged a meeting between the circuit and justice court judiciary to discuss the issues Vess raised. The issues could potentially be resolved without new funds, he said.

Vess also raised the potential of starting an ankle bracelet program for suspects released on a recognizance bond.

The Youth Court has a similar program in place, Slover said, but the grant that funds it probably limits the program to juveniles.

The supervisors said Vess was welcome to approach Southwest Mississippi Planning and Development District, the county’s grant-writing agency, about writing a similar grant for Justice Court.

When Justice Court Clerk Audrey Bailey asked if employees could receive a raise, the board entered into executive session briefly because the matter included employee review. The supervisors did not make a final decision about the potential raise Wednesday.

When Hudson appeared before the board, the supervisors asked why the Youth Court detention program — which is overseen by the County Court — would cost $593,688.

Lazarus said Pike County only budgets $150,000 for detention of juveniles, while Madison County only budgets $93,000.

Hudson said he believes those numbers only reflect the cost of housing juvenile offenders without taking into account the whole of the youth court system.

The county will receive $300,000 from other counties for the housing of juvenile offenders, he said.

“It is true that we don’t house as many kids here as we did 10 years ago, and that is a compliment to the system,” he said. “That (detention center) plays a much larger role than just a place to house kids. It is part of a larger, more holistic system. It is a place we can deal with our kids quickly and appropriately.”

Hudson said in the coming year the detention center will charge $110 a night for housing out-of-county offenders, up from $100 a night.

The top charge in the state is $125 a night, in Rankin County, where the county has a full time medical and psychiatric staff and a brand new facility, Hudson said.

“If we are charging the same as they are charging, you bet (other counties) will choose them,” he said.

The budget also reflects the cost of hiring a nurse, which the facility needs to meet correctional guidelines, Hudson said.

“Right now, every time a kid bellyaches, we have to take them to the hospital, and that falls on the shoulders of the county,” he said.

Youth court officials across the state are working to change laws in place so Medicaid will cover the cost of youth offenders’ health bills in the future, Hudson said.

The board also met briefly in executive session with Hudson to discuss staffing matters at the youth detention center following the recent arrest of former administrator, Kevin Nations, on charges he embezzled thousands of dollars from the center.

The board did not make any final decisions on the budget Wednesday.