Pay raise favored over police horses
Dear Editor:
Thanks to The Times for keeping citizens up to date on county jail overcrowding.
Related to the problem and perhaps the cause of it is that the county is providing rent-a-cells to the federal prison system. According to Blount County commissioners, if we exclude those rentals, there is no overcrowding. Otherwise we may have to build a new jail wing which would cost the county at least $10 million. I say let the feds house their own prisoners and save Blount Countians that building cost and the undisclosed amount to take care of them.
Why is the Sheriff’s Department in the horse business? Feed, shoeing, horse gear, veterinarians, trucks, horse trailers and barns are expensive; I understand Blount County has spent about $70,000 on the items listed and wants to spend more. The county has a fleet of cruisers, trucks, motorcycles, four-wheelers and bicycles and capable officers to do the job.
I like horses and mules and have owned them for decades but see them as a complete waste of taxpayer’s money to include them and their maintenance in the county’s budget. In recent years many horse owners have been unable to give them away because of associated costs to own them. Get rid of the horses and give the officers a raise instead.
Billy Minser
4702 Gribble Road
Maryville, TN 37803
