The topic of keys unlocked a debate between Sheriff James Haywood and District 1 Supervisor Glenn Donald on Tuesday during the Sunflower County Board of Supervisors’ meeting.
As a result of the county lawmakers’ last session, Haywood submitted a proposal whereby only two members of the Search and Rescue group would be issued a key to the newly-constructed SAR building with a third key to be held at the sheriff’s office and checked out by the remaining volunteers as needed.
The board members voted 4-1 to approve the sheriff’s proposal with Donald casting the lone no vote.
The SAR team is under Haywood’s jurisdiction, and he asserted that he should have a say in which members have a key to the building, which is located adjacent to the sheriff’s office and the county jail.
Donald stated his opposition to Haywood's plan, which would only grant unrestricted access to the president of SAR and the secretary for the group. He maintained that it should not be up to Haywood to determine who is able to come and go freely into and out of the structure that houses the county’s emergency equipment.
Haywood stated to the board that it was about accountability, but according to him, some were apparently laboring under a different assumption.
Donald said, "The assumption they have sheriff is that the building don't belongs to you. It's not under you.”
Haywood responded, "They are under me, sir."
"Well the building's not under you," Donald responded. At that point Haywood said, "Well, they don't exist no more as of this moment, since you put that." Haywood added.
Donald said, "That's fine." He then put forth that if Haywood declared that the group doesn't exist, then SAR could legally be housed under MEMA.
Donald’s contention is that the building belongs to the Sunflower County Board of Supervisors and was constructed to allow the SAR equipment and other emergency equipment to be housed there. He said the sheriff's department has nothing to do with the building.
"He's active over the search-and-rescue operation,” Donald emphasized.
"No matter what happens, they still have to come through the sheriff," Haywood stressed. "I don't care what you do or how you do it sir, the sheriff will assume his statutory duty."
Apparently, in response to the elevated tones and the back-and-forth between Donald and Haywood, President Riley Rice rapped his gavel to regain order.
Rice then referenced a passage in the federal and state guidelines that states that the county sheriff is responsible for the search-and-rescue squad at the local level.
"You can name it anything you want to name it, but when it comes to search and rescue, it's still going to be under the sheriff," Rice said.
District 3 Supervisor Ben Gaston, who has spent some time working for the state emergency management agency also weighed in on the issue. Referencing the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan that he said was signed off on by the governor, Gaston stated, "He (the sheriff) controls their activities, and if he controls their activities, he controls them."
He then added that the key issue was a minute thing.
Rice too stated that a key was an insignificant matter to argue over.
The matter came up during the county leaders earlier February meeting wherein Haywood asked them to table a request from SAR President Stan Bennett to issue keys to several of the rescue volunteers.
Haywood stated then that since the SAR fell under his jurisdiction that any request for keys should have come through him.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Haywood asserted that Donald was attempting to "dictate" what he can do and was trying to supersede his authority. And he also alluded to meetings that were held regarding the SAR that he was excluded from.
In the end, Donald acknowledged that he understood that Haywood was in charge of search and rescue; however, he still maintained that Haywood had no authority over the building and asserted that Haywood's plan was just a power play.
Haywood again stressed that his proposal was for accountability purposes and underscored that the sheriff’s office is open 24/7, and if there was a need or an emergency where another volunteer arrived before Bennett, the volunteer would simply have to stop next door and pick up the key.
In addition to the individuals in the sheriff’s proposal, the emergency management director, the E-911 director, the sheriff and the county administrator also hold keys and one is kept in the vault at the courthouse.
