Sheriff receives funding in 4-3 vote

Barrow County sheriff Jud Smith was granted his request for additional funding by the Board of Commissioners Tuesday night in a close 4-3 vote.
Smith said he is fine with getting $407,000 additional funds, which was $50,000 less than his original request. The BOC voted two weeks ago to allot the sheriff’s department $50,000 to keep the department operating until the July 8 meeting.
The swing vote came from commissioner Billy Parks, who had previously voted against the increased funding. The vote was initially 4-3 against the request with Parks voting against the motion, but he went the other direction Tuesday night.
After the vote, Parks told the Barrow Journal he had received more information than he had before from Smith.
“He answered the questions I had,” Parks said.