Lowndes County Board of Supervisors made quick work of its agenda Monday, moving through a short list of topics with little discussion and no dissent in a 25-minute meeting before going into closed session to discuss a settlement concerning possible litigation.
The board emerged from the closed session and voted to accept a settlement proposal from the county’s insurance representative concerning the alleged abuse of an inmate at the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center.
Board President Harry Sanders said a confidentiality agreement prohibited him from disclosing the amount of money the county will pay to settle the matter.
“It wasn’t a large amount of money,” Sanders said. “It’s less than our deductible, so our insurance company suggested that we go ahead and settle.”
The county’s deductible is $25,000.
Sanders said no civil suit had been filed, but that the attorney for the man who claimed to have been injured had written a letter to the county that said a civil suit was being planned.
“This was supposed to have happened about three years ago,” Sanders said. “We decided it would be better for us to go ahead and settle out of court. Like I said, it wasn’t a big amount of money.”
During its open session, the board handled a number of minor issues which included:
■ Setting a public hearing to be held at 9:15 a.m. at the courthouse on Aug. 14 on the annual real and personal rolls from tax assessor Greg Andrews as required by law;
■ Approving change orders on a trio of grant-funded improvements to the county airport;
■ Approving an amended Memorandum of Understanding for a DIP Grant to help fund its commitment to the expansion at Steel Dynamics;
■ And hearing from Renee Sanders, the new volunteer director of the Columbus-Lowndes United Way, who urged the county to participate in the United Way’s volunteer programs and to contact her about any county-supported events that the United Way could participate in.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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