JASPER, Tenn. - When a representative from the Southeast Human Resource Agency came to the Marion County Commission meeting in November to request the approval of a new court fee to help fund a special advocate program, county leaders tabled the decision to gather more information.
After several meetings on the matter to discuss the details, the matter was considered again at the board's January meeting.
County Mayor David Jackson said the fee would be $45 added onto cases where a SETHRA court-appointed special advocate, or CASA, was needed.
CASA workers advocate for abused or neglected children within the court system.
Commission Chairman Gene Hargis works for the county sheriff's department and said it's something he "deals with a lot."
He said there already are three entities that assist on domestic violence and child abuse cases in Marion combined with other court programs already in place.
"I'm not saying this is a bad thing at all, but we are triplicating services on some of this," Hargis said. "With each case, you've got three or four different people that have received grant money through the state or the federal government, and they're all competing for the same victims."
Sometimes, he said, special advocates don't agree with the direction a guardian ad litem, who is typically a local lawyer appointed by the court to look out for a child's best interests, wants to go.
"That threw up a little bit of a red flag for me," Hargis said.
When organizations are "jockeying" for every person they can add to their caseload to justify additional grant money for the next year, he said issues can arise.
Hargis said the matter is "not an easy question," but he wanted to make sure the board members had all the facts to make an informed decision.
"Sometimes you can never have enough help," he said. "Is that always in the best interest of the child or the domestic violence victim or the sexual assault victim? Not always."
The board voted 10-5 to approve the new fee in such cases.
Commissioner Mack Reeves made the motion to approve the fee as long as the funds were used only in Marion and said if it can benefit at-risk children, he's for it.
"Anything to help the children, I've kind of got a soft spot for it," he said.
Commissioner Matt Blansett voted against the fee and said he believes the county already offers the services needed for at-risk children.
"If I really felt that we didn't have the resources to take care of kids in these situations, I'd be all for it, but I think we've got enough in place right now to take care of it."
Commissioner Tommy Thompson also voted against adding the fee and said the board should be careful about "jumping on every feel-good project" that comes along.
"It hasn't always worked out the best for us [the board]," he said. "We don't have a very good track record of collecting fines anyway."
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.