The embezzlement scandal of former circuit clerk Shelly Ashley Palmertree continues with a victim of her scheme requesting $3,000 owed to them.

Senior Circuit Court Judge for the Ninth Judicial District Isadore Patrick ordered the money from the county through the Board of Supervisors to the Mississippi Department of Human Resources. Board President Bill Lauderdale did not see the issuance of a check to be the board’s responsibility.

“[My questions was] Why didn’t he [judge] go directly to the district attorney and order him to collect it,” Lauderdale said.

Brenda Theriot, victim’s assistance coordinator in the district attorney’s office, said in the end, the only person being hurt is the victim who lost the money that was supposed to go toward a child support type payment but was kept by Palmertree instead. Lauderdale said he wanted to protect the taxpayers from having to pay for Palmertree’s mistakes. He said she should have to reimburse the victim, not the county.

“Shelly Palmertree is not paying nearly how much she’s getting in retirement toward her embezzlement amount,” Lauderdale said.

The board came to no formal conclusion as to the steps to take and chose to hold the order under advisement until further discussion could be made between board attorney Blake Teller and district attorney Ricky Smith.

The next item of large importance pertained to county payment of state employed court reporters. Court reporter pay was discussed at length regarding a pay increase that was not enforced but suggested statewide.

The pay raises have caused confusion and inequality in pay.

The board had already approved a $2,000 raise for the court reporters, but that does not add up to the amount suggested by the state in some cases. Part of the salary raise is based off of years of work with more money going to those who have worked over 10 years. Now, court reporters with the same job in different courtrooms are making different amounts of money.

“It’s confusing, and it all needs to be revamped in my opinion,” Lauderdale said. “I hate it for the court reporters as far as them looking at the job and somebody over there doing the same thing as I’m doing, that they get more, but they need to talk to the legislature about it.”

Multiple counties are footing the bill for court reporters with the salaries split between Warren, Sharkey and Issaquena counties for circuit court and those three plus Washington, Sunflower and Humphreys counties for chancery court.

“I think somebody needs to look at those positions and make a good judgement on salary just like every other employee with the county,” Lauderdale said.

In other business, the board approved the following pieces of business.

Tax collector Antonia Flaggs-Jones presented the personal property delinquency roll. These businesses have to pay tax on equipment but have not done so. She said the sheriff’s department would issue warrants.

“They’re supposed to lock them up and seize their property and sell it to get our taxes back, and that’s what needs to happen if these people don’t pay,” Lauderdale said.

The city of Vicksburg and Warren County have approved an interlocal agreement for emergency services in the city to extend throughout the county.

“They are going to provide the whole county with the city ambulance service,” Lauderdale said.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, the Municipal and Local Contractors Consignment Auction will be hosted by Vicksburg through Martin & Martin Auctioneers. The board approved the county’s participation in the auction.

“Vehicles getting old or equipment getting old that we can’t use, or it starts costing too much to maintain, we’ll auction it off before it’s so bad you have to junk it,” Lauderdale said.

Upon receipt of funds from Mississippi Development Authority, a check has been approved by the board in the amount of $90,557.32 to Unicon, Inc. pertaining to construction expenses on the Haining Road Slide Repair and Erosion Control Project.

“That’s Community Development Block Grant,” Lauderdale said. “That’s federal money that comes through the state Mississippi Development Authority. We applied and got that money to do a project up on the port. It was some erosion bank stabilization we did up on Haining Road.”

The District Attorney’s report given by Theriot said $44, 868.39 was collected of the $127,610 fines, restitution and court costs assessed for September 2015.