Supervisors accept bank bids, reject road services

The Franklin County Board of Supervisors opened bids on start-of-the-new-year services and supplies on Tuesday, Jan. 18 during the panel’s second regular session for the month.

Bids were opened for regional financial institutions to serve as official county depositories with the panel receiving and accepting proposals from the Bank of Franklin and Trustmark Bank, which both presently hold county funds.

Both submissions were for the prevailing market rate for interest.

A proposal was not received from United Mississippi Bank – which presently holds some of the counties funds.

Chancery Clerk Jill Jordan Gilbert said the county would likely need to remove its funds from UMB as it did not submit a request to be considered as a depository.

Additionally, bids were opened for road-related products, including liquid asphalt and emulsion, oils and culverts.

The board rejected all bids received for those services in favor of being able to call different companies and seek quotes as the need arises.

Also during the supervisors’ meeting, the panel:

• Heard from Tax Assessor-Collector Talina King Matthews about a recent law change regarding automobile license plates.

“(Last year), The Legislature passed a law on the issuance of light pickup tags, B-10s, F-10s and state issued tags,” Matthews noted.

“There are a lot of people in Mississippi who have the wrong tags on their trucks, so the Legislature has clarified existing statutes. F-150 and 1,500 trucks must be issued a light pickup tag. Light pickup tags are for half-ton trucks, and there will be no exceptions to this rule.

“F-250s, F-350s, 2,500s and 3,500s must be issued a B-10 or an F-10 with certain qualifications. The three-quarter ton trucks get the ‘10’ tags.

“Any vehicle with the wrong tag at this current moment will have to surrender (it) at the time of registration.”

Matthews said her office is in the process of sending letters out informing those with incorrect tags how to go about getting the correct one.

She also said those who mistakenly received yellow state issued tags will be allowed to wait until registration time to turn in their plates, as her office cannot apply credit for state issued tags to county tags.

Also pertaining to tags, Matthews said lawmakers created a harvest tag for truck drivers.

The plate would allow them to cross state lines with a load, but they would have to come back into Mississippi sans the load.

Matthews also noted all taxpayers are required to have valid identification to transfer any title. Any state-issued ID qualifies to accomplish this task.

• Approved paying $175 for a $50,000 bond on new deputy Justice Court clerk Quaneshia Robertson.

• Renewed the Franklin County Volunteer Fire Association’s insurance policy.

• Received a financial status statement from Franklin County Memorial Hospital.

The Board of Supervisors will hold their next regularly scheduled business meeting at 9 a.m., Monday, Feb. 7 at the Franklin County Courthouse in Meadville.