Supervisors advised on ice storm recovery reimbursement dilemma (Oct. 19, 2026) -

Seated left to right:

Chandler Rogers – Board attorney
County Administrator – Terry Johnson
Annette Hickey – Chancery Clerk
C. J. Bright – 3rd District Supervisor – Board President
Steve Watson – 5th District Supervisor
Chad Coffey – 2nd District Supervisor
Sam Taylor – 1st District Supervisor
Randy Owen – 4th District Supervisor

You can view a copy of the agenda by clicking here and watch a 28-minute video of the meeting below, courtesy of our videographer Kim Davis.

Ambulance Service

(Timestamp 1:30) Ann Bishop and Heather Franklin from Baptist Memorial Hospital addressed the board at the start of the meeting. Franklin has worked at the hospital for over 20 years, most recently in the emergency department. She described her department’s coordination with Priority Ambulance, which provides ambulance services for the county. Franklin addressed how the hospital was working with Priority as well as as other emergency responders to coordinate and standardize responses to 911 calls. She also offered to act as a point of contact for anyone in local government when there are any concerns about ambulance service.

Ice storm emergency reimbursement dilemma

(6:55 – 9:50) A representative from ER Assist addressed the board. ER Assist is a consulting firm based in Bentonville, Arkansas, that advises communities struck by disasters on reimbursement requirements from state and federal disaster management agencies. The representative updated the board on the status of FEMA reimbursements and alerted the board to a cashflow dilemma facing disaster-hit Mississippi counties hoping to benefit from the state’s disaster loan program.

To provide some background for readers, FEMA reimburses 75% of funds paid by local governments for disaster-related expenses. In Mississippi, the state’s emergency management agency (MEMA) pays another 12.5%, leaving the local government responsible for 12.5% of expenses. To help counties affected by Winter Storm Fern move ahead with recovery projects while awaiting FEMA reimbursement, the Mississippi legislature set up the MEMA 2026 Local Government Disaster Recovery Emergency Loan Program (HB 1646). This is a $125 million statewide revolving loan pool to help counties pay invoices for disaster recovery-related contracts. The idea is that the county can then repay HB 1646 loans when FEMA reimbursement comes through.

However, as the ER Assist representative explained, Union County is now stuck in a “reimbursement cycle” because MEMA will not pay out FEMA reimbursements without receiving canceled checks. Essentially, due to MEMA’s requirements, individual counties have to show that contracts are fully paid (including the FEMA and MEMA share) in order to receive the money owed to the county by FEMA.

At present, Union County has reached the cap on loans they can receive from the HB 1646 program. The county will have to close out a project in order to unlock more loan funds. Fortunately, the ER Assist representative said that Union County currently has one recovery project that is ready to be closed out. This means the county will be able to receive FEMA reimbursement funds which it can use to repay some of its HB 1646 loan. This will free up about $2 million in HB 1646 loans that the county can access.

Moving forward, the representative said the county could free up more access to loans by paying the 12.5% share on other outstanding disaster recovery projects so they can be submitted, reimbursed and closed out.

The representative added that as of right now, the fund that pays out the state’s 12.5% is out of money until January, which creates a further complication for closing out some contracts.

Other items of interest:

(10:55) The board discussed bids for an air handler for the courtroom at the courthouse. Three bids were received from Tristar ($38,000), Jessco ($69,670) and one from Hoop (?) Electrical ($42,100). The board accepted the lowest bid from Tristar.
(15:05) An agenda item was added regarding the abandonment of part of the right-of-way on County Road 122. CJ Bright said the county had gotten more than necessary from the state when they turned it over. The board agreed to hold a public hearing on the matter at the November 16 meeting.
(19:56) The board discussed quotes received for culverts and cold mix for the road department. For the culverts, two quotes were received from GMO Supply ($5,716.47) and Cobra Supply ($8,934.99). For the cold mix, two quotes were received from Cold Mix, Inc. ($130/ton) and APAC ($185/ton). The board approved the lower bids for both items.
(24:04) Steve Griffin addressed the board. He was recently assessed for escaped taxes, meaning that the county previously failed to accurately assess his property taxes and and Mr. Griffin had underpaid as a result. Mr. Griffin asked if the amount to be paid could be spread out over a period of time since it was a lot to pay at once. Tax Assessor Tameri Dunnam was uncertain of the window within which the money needed to be paid. Board attorney Chandler Rogers said that the law stated that the tax assessor could take no action for 30 days, but that after that the office could take action as it deemed fit. Mr. Griffin was asked to remain after the meeting to see what could be worked out.

The board then entered executive session and will next meet on Monday, November 2, 2026.