Live blog: Madison County Sheriff John Mehr and county commission trial day one

The long-anticipated lawsuit between Madison County Sheriff John Mehr and the county commission goes to trial Tuesday.

Mehr is suing the commission and Madison County Mayor Jimmy Harris for an additional $5 million in funding for his department. The commission contends he doesn't need the funds, saying he should instead cut several high-paying positions in his department that he "doesn't need."

Recap:The 15-month long battle over funding between the Sheriff and county commission

The civil trial will occur in Madison County Circuit Court starting Oct. 13 with an expected wrap up of Oct. 15 or 16.

The Jackson Sun will publish a live blog each day updating as events occur.

Several high-ranking officials in both the county and sheriff's office are expected to testify throughout the trial. 

Judge William Acree from Union City will hear the case and make the final ruling. There is no juror involved in the case. 

4 p.m.Part of Mehr's testimony heard Tuesday, will be cross-examined Wednesday

Mehr testified about the department's retainment issues and the importance of keeping a lawyer, budget director, IT director, human resources director and public information officer. 

Mehr said all the positions were "necessary" for him to perform his duties as sheriff. He specifically mentioned the time he spends with his budget director in managing his day-to-day responsibilities. 

"I probably talk to [the budget director] every day," Mehr added. "You need a person in that position who can track our daily spending."

Mehr's attorneys also began comparing MCSO to the county's health department. The health department employs fewer employees than the sheriff's office but has a budget director, IT director and public information officer.

Judge Acree stopped Mehr's testimony at 5 p.m. Mehr's lawyers will continue to ask him questions starting Wednesday at 9 a.m. He will then be cross-examined by the county's lawyers. 

3 p.m. County lawyers focus on MCSO success under current funding levels

The county's lawyers continued their cross-examination of Madison County Sheriff's Office chief deputy Steve Overton Tuesday, focusing on whether the department could perform its duties without the additional 10 deputies the sheriff is requesting as part of his lawsuit. 

Overton testified he was "absolutely proud" of MCSO's 60% case clearance rate, which has significantly increased since Mehr took office in 2014.

By comparison, the Jackson Police Department clears between 30 to 35% of its cases.

The county lawyers also focused on the $500,000 the sheriff spends on a lawyer, IT director, human resources director, budget director and press information officer.

Overton said he "didn't know" if the department could hire 10 new patrol deputies with those funds. MCSO's starting pay for deputies is $36,500 per year, but there are additional costs in the hiring process for training and to provide health benefits.

1 p.m. Overton testifies about the department's needs

Overton started his testimony Tuesday morning discussing the department's needs and its employee pay scale. 

The sheriff's lawyer continued to make a case that the department was understaffed. Overton testified MCSO has trouble recruiting and retaining employees because of the department's low pay scale. 

Overton added the department needed a range of 47 to 54 patrol officers based on a study he conducted measuring response time and reports received. Judge Acree allowed Overton to testify as an expert on the issue.

Overton said "just from listening" to the police scanner one can hear the deputies "running from call to call."

The department currently has 41 patrol officers. As part of the lawsuit, the sheriff is asking for money to pay for 10 new employees.

During the start of the county's lawyers' cross-examination, Overton testified pay might not be the only reason employees leave.

Overton said some factors could be rules banning facial hair, the ban on officers picking up off-duty jobs, and the department's mandate making officers work for a year in the jail before moving to another patrol area.

Overton also testified despite losing employees every year the department has been able to hire more employees. The department employs about 50 more people today than it did when Mehr took office in 2014.

Overton's cross-examination testimony will continue this afternoon. 

11 a.m. City of Jackson Director of Personnel testifies on JPD pay as a compared to MCSO

City of Jackson Director of Personnel Lynn Henning testified about the size and the pay scale at the Jackson Police Department.

The sheriff's lawyers called her as a witness to show the differences between JPD and the Madison County Sheriff's Officer's pay scale.

Newly hired Jackson police officers make slightly more money than MCSO officers, and can receive a signing bonus.

The county's lawyers asked Henning about high-paying employees, and she testified JPD doesn't have its own IT, HR or budget director. 

10:30 a.m. County lawyer: The sheriff "made choices" on what to spend money and "shouldn't get any" more money

The county's attorney Geoffrey Lindley began his opening remarks by framing the issue as a set of choices. 

Lindley said the sheriff’s department is not "starved” but actually well-funded.

"When the sheriff took office, he had 234 employees. The most recent roster has 282," he added. "He started with 126 vehicles, now the department has 196."

Lindley then said the county took issue with spending $500,000 on "positions [Mehr] does not need," including a lawyer, press information officer, budget director and the creation of a job "that didn't previously exist” given to his wife.

Lindley closed his remarks by saying the sheriff made "a set of choices" to hire certain employees, and the court "should deny" him additional funding. Instead, the sheriff should find the money he "claims to need" by cutting these positions. 

9:30 a.m Sheriff's lawyer opening statement: Mehr "is unable to operate his office correctly."

Mehr’s attorney Lawrence Laurenzi opened the trial by framing the issue as a low wage problem. 

Laurenzi said MCSO deputy wages are "subpar," making it difficult for Mehr to recruit and "unable to operate his office correctly.

"The office has just become a training ground for other departments around the state," he added.

Laurenzi then discussed the sheriff's department's growing workload to cover court security and school resource officers, which he claimed the department wasn't doing before Mehr took office in 2014.

"As workloads increased, deputies and pay were not," he added.

Laurenzi finished his opening remarks stating the department needed its own IT director, budget director, human resource director and lawyer to help manage the "over 300 employees" the department oversees.

Reach Adam Friedman by email at afriedman@jacksonsun.com, by phone at 731-431-8517 or follow him on Twitter @friedmanadam5.