VIENNA — Maries County Sheriff Mark Morgan said his recent letter to the county commission regarding his department’s fourth-quarter money transfer was a “last-ditch effort” after months of waiting for clarity on how his office would meet payroll and cover essential expenses.

“I waited as long as I could,” Morgan said. “I want everybody to work together. I was going to commission meetings upstairs before I was even sworn in, actually, before I even won the general election. I was going to commission meetings because I wanted to build a good relationship with the commissioners, and I want to have a good relationship with everybody in this building.”

Morgan said the decision to submit the letter did not come easily.

“I felt I failed at that point, when I had to give them that letter,” he said. “I actually wrote that letter about two weeks before I gave it to them.”

The letter that prompted Morgan’s remarks was a five-page formal demand issued Nov. 6 to the Maries County Commission, seeking the immediate transfer of $93,625 in fourth-quarter funds already appropriated to his office. Morgan warned that failure to release the money by Nov. 11 would result in legal action, arguing the delay violated Missouri budget law and threatened his ability to meet payroll and operate the county jail. The commission later voted unanimously to make the transfer, borrowing the amount from Road District 2 until year-end revenues replenish general funds.

When asked how he felt the commission handled this year’s budget challenges, Morgan was measured in his response.

“I think that they’re in a tough spot,” he said.  “I’ve even told them I don’t envy their positions when it comes to the budget this year, just on how financially strapped we are. I think they’re doing the best they can with what they’ve got.”

Despite the financial pressures, Morgan said the sheriff’s office expects to finish the year under budget.

“I kind of pride myself on how well we’ve done on the budget this year,” Morgan said. “It kind of doesn’t feel like it, because of all the financial issues. But, I know the sheriff’s office can say that we 100 percent cut everything we could.”

Morgan gave an example of the department’s fiscal challenges, citing a patrol vehicle now out of service due to almost $3,000 of needed repairs.

“One of our vehicles has a $2,600 repair bill,” he said. “I even asked the shop if there was any shortcut to just get it running long enough to sell, but there isn’t. So it’s either fix it or tow it back and lose even more. So now, I got to eat $2,600 (for repairs).”

He said situations like that just show the delicate balance of maintaining operations on a tight budget.

“It’s one of those ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ moments,” Morgan said.

Morgan said he remains hopeful that open communication with the commission will continue.