Youth program ran by sheriff’s office meets hiccup in funding

NEWTON COUNTY – Around 80 kids are currently participating in the Law & Leadership Academy summer camp. But funding for the camp’s operation met a hiccup during Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting.

Sheriff Ezell Brown came before the board on Tuesday to request $53,116 to fund the Law & Leadership Academy, which is already in session. The academy is presented by both the Newton County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) and the Taylor Made Foundation, a local nonprofit designed to help underserved youth. Currently, the six-week program is already in session, with kids aged sixth through 12th grade already in attendance four days a week at Indian Creek Middle School. While fees were charged for each student’s participation, Brown said the project was reliant on funding from the county. However, the sheriff said he had only learned last week that the Taylor Made Foundation could not receive the requested money due to the county’s policy of capping funding of nonprofits at $2,500

This led to Brown making a formal request to the board.

“The last thing I want to do is come before this board and ask for money,” Brown said.

Brown’s request led to extensive discussion from the commissioners, with District 5 Commissioner LeAnne Long kicking off the conversation.

Long noted that while she supported the Taylor Made Foundation and the Law & Leadership Academy, she wanted to make sure the project was fiscally feasible. She suggested that the sheriff’s office could use some of the money allocated in its FY25 budget and repurpose it.

“It’s not the program I have a problem with,” Long said. “I just think, how do we fund that? Where do we get the money? If you tell me that we’ve got it, then we can do it.”

District 4 Commissioner J.C. Henderson commended Brown for his efforts, saying that the board should be in support of allocating the full amount requested. Specifically, he recalled when the board approved past projects in the seven-figure range with less discussion.

“To do something positive for our kids and our community,” Henderson said. “And we’re having a debate about $53,000?”

District 2 Commissioner and Vice-Chair Demond Mason – who served as acting chair during Tuesday’s meeting due to interim Chair Linda Hays’ absence – pointed out that there are other programs in the community, including ones that his sons currently attend. 

Mason also shared concerns similar to Long’s regarding fiscal responsibility. He questioned where a portion – $23,250 listed on the allocation breakdown – of the requested $53,116 would land.

Brown said that the money would be paid to a number of instructors who are teaching classes at the academy, but could not give “specific names.” These individuals are outside contractors and not employees of the NCSO.

District 1 Commissioner Stan Edwards asked Brown if this would be a one-time ask, or if this academy would become annual. Brown said it was likely that it would be a one-time ask and that he would look at raising money for the academy next year, as he does for many of the other programs at the NCSO.

“It’s probably going to be a one-time,” Brown said. “And probably what I’ll do the next time is start out in advance and try to raise the money.”

In addition to fiscal concerns, some commissioners also had concerns about which organization was the driving force behind the Law & Leadership Academy – the NCSO or Taylor Made.

“I think the reason why Taylor Made keeps coming up, because Taylor Made, the founder, is the one that stated this was her program and she was just partnering with you,” Mason said. “She basically stated that this is her program but you’re partnering with her. So now we’re hearing that this is actually your [the NCSO’s] program partnering with her.”

Brown insisted that the program was from the NCSO, and that it was partnering with Taylor Made and not vice versa.

Following the discussion, Henderson made a motion to amend the agenda to include the allocation of $53,116 to the NCSO. An agenda amendment was needed due to the topic’s designation as discussion only. The motion was seconded by interim District 3 Commissioner Andre Cooper, but failed 2-3.

While the source of funding for the academy may not have been determined on Tuesday, it is possible the commissioners will return to this topic in a future meeting. 

For now, however, Brown said he has no plans to pause the camps’ continuation:

“The program will run.”