Lauderdale County supervisors will have some serious discussion about where to spend county funds after a motion failed Monday to cut infrastructure support from the town of Marion.

 

Supervisor J.J. Anders, who serves as board president, made the motion saying the county faces some difficult decisions heading into budget discussions later this summer, and some hard choices will need to be made to minimize the impact on county taxpayers. As a municipality, he said, Marion has the ability to levy taxes of its own to pay for road and bridge upkeep.

 

Anders motioned to end the county’s support at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. With the deadline more than five months away, Anders said making a decision now will give both county and Marion officials time to prepare for the change.

 

“Right now we are 100% funding their roads and bridges without any reimbursement, and I just don’t think that’s fair to any of the other taxpayers that live out in the county,” he said. “And if I’m alone on this, I’m fine. I’ll sleep great tonight, but I just feel that it needs to be brought up, and I think the right thing to do is to give them enough time ahead of their budgetary process, ahead of our budgetary process, for them to make plans.”

 

Board Attorney Lee Thaggard said Lauderdale County has concurrent jurisdiction over roads and bridges in Marion, which gives it authority to maintain and upgrade the infrastructure as needed. The arrangement was previously approved by both the Board of Supervisors and Marion Board of Aldermen before going into effect.

 

Supervisor Josh Todd said he isn’t sure five months will be enough for Marion. The town, which has a population of less than 2,000, does not have many extra resources and might not be able to absorb infrastructure costs without sharply increasing taxes.

 

Supervisor Kyle Rutledge said he believes the first step should be talks between the county and Marion leadership. It may be the two entities can work together to find a solution or decide moving forward with ending support is the best option.

 

“Either way, you need to have them,” he said.

 

Anders said his motion wasn’t intended to be punitive but rather to make sure the county is using its resource to the fullest extent possible. Since joining the Board of Supervisors in January 2024, he said, he has seen a lot of needs that should be addressed. As supervisors and department heads prepare for budget meetings over the summer, he said, some hard choices will need to be made.

 

“The thing is that if we don’t make some realistic decisions as a board, financial decisions, then this summer is going to be really interesting,” he said.

 

Supervisor Craig Houston, whose district includes Marion, said he understands the need to cut costs but can’t support cutting support to Marion while the county wastes funds in other areas.

 

“I hear what you’re saying about this particular situation, but keep it in mind when other stuff comes up,” he said. “Keep it in mind when we hire people that have done work that has cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars, but because somebody knows them, we put them back to work again. So keep that in mind when all that comes up.”

 

Supervisor Joe Norwood said Marion is not the only entity with taxing power the county assists, and if one is on the table, they all should be. The county also pays for and maintains several hundred school bus turnarounds for Lauderdale County School District, he said.

 

“If that’s where we are headed, let’s make sure we include all of these people, not just the town of Marion,” he said.

 

Anders’ motion failed for lack of a second. Supervisors are set to begin budget sessions following their regularly scheduled work session on May 1.