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He said a number of comments reflect a misunderstanding.

“There are just so many things about the processes that people don’t understand,� he said. “With the road issues, that really is not up to me, as with most things. The road supervisor has a budget that he must adhere to and has the difficult task of making the decision of which roads to repair or upkeep.�

He said the cost “has gone up in the last few years.�

“I don’t like it, and I know that Ben (Cook), the Road Supervisor, doesn’t either,� he said. “As for the wheel tax money going to roads, there is not any money set aside in wheel tax money for roads specifically. There was a five million dollar note that will be due in 2029 for paving roads and a million dollar note for oil and chipping roads, so Ben does have six million dollars out of the wheel tax in the form of that note. In 2026, they are getting around $1 million dollars from the state where they were previously getting a little over $600,000. Ben will do well to maintain with those funds much less do some improvements.�

Jones said 75% of the wheel tax money goes into debt service, and 25% goes into the general fund.

“This was done years ago in order to not have to raise taxes,� he said. “The wheel tax was set up to pay some debts. I wasn’t here then so I am not sure exactly what was listed then. They had school roofs, [and] right now there is a debt for solid waste for $460,000. The Administration Building does have $4.5 million of debt service going to pay it off. We have somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 worth of debt capacity that we can pay on something else if we need to.�

He said the county commission voted to take $1 million out of debt service this year “to fund the jail budget, and in my opinion that was not good.�

“That is in no way negative toward the sheriff, I just see it as a risk,� he said. “He did a presentation showing that by doing so, we wouldn’t have to raise taxes. It isn’t a good idea because $1 million dollars is roughly a 14-cent tax increase, and if that $1 million cannot be put back into savings, then it will cause a raise in taxes. We are in a situation where we need some extra funding for the jail for the contingency funds. We would have had the money if we didn’t go with his presentation. Ultimately it was on the commissioners to make the decision.�

He said the situation may resolve itself, though.

“We borrowed $1 million from ourselves to pay on the health department,� said Jones. “We must pay that; the state would not give us the $7 million up front. They said if we paid the initial $1 million, that we would be reimbursed for that amount. If that $1 million is there in time, then we will have the money to cover for the jail and there won’t be a need to raise taxes for that.�

He said proceeds from the old health department may also help.

“We are hoping to get as close to $2 million out of that as we can, so whatever that building brings will go toward what we borrowed for the administration building,� Jones said.

When asked about those who still do not have access to public water, Jones said $3.5 million in federal dollars has supposedly been appropriated for Macon County.

“I don’t know if that will come to fruition with the federal government the way it is at the moment,� he said. “I do know that Rep. John Rose got money put into a bill that has other attachments to it. That bill is a 4,000-plus page document and that pertains to water. Macon County got together with engineers to see how we can best utilize those funds.�

He said the county is “going to try and get water to people on North Long Creek Road if the money goes through.�

“Another road is Cook Road that we are looking at to get water supply to,� he said. “It isn’t just about getting water to who wants it. We have to look at cost and how many people we can service versus other areas. There is a big misconception that it is a who’s who thing, and that just isn’t the case. We have to look at the big picture when dealing with these things.�

Jones also offered his opinions on the vocational school and a new stadium.

“I think that the Macon County BOE should go ahead and pay for the vocational school since they have the money to do so,� said Jones. “What people need to understand is that this is not Macon County saying that we need to do something about a new vocational school. This is something that TCAT is dictating in order for them to stay involved. There are people saying things like using the existing building, or the old elementary, or the National Guard building, but the issue is that TCAT wants it to be on campus in order for them to remain involved.�

He said that since Macon County has implemented temporary vocational schooling on campus, “enrollment has jumped from 20-30 students to 211 this year.�

“Those numbers really show us the desire for this to be done,� he said. “Not every student wants to go to college. Some want to receive training for specific jobs, and vocational offers trade-based education. It is important to give that to those that have the desire. The young people deserve to have a future whether it is through college or vocational.�

As for a new sports complex, Jones said he agreed with Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, when he said last week that education comes before sports.

“If the BOE has $10 million in the bank, it is my opinion that they do their job which is education and build a vocational school,� he said. “I am not for a football field; I am for a sports complex. I think that if they are going to spend that much money, build something where many people can utilize the complex. From various sports to school bands. We could get competitions to come then, and those help pay for these things. If it is going to cost $6.6 million for a vocational wing, then they can put the remaining $3.4 million back and build it up until they can afford to build the sports complex. Take donations, do fundraisers, whatever they can to raise the funds.�

Jones says he knows the frustration within the county, and he is doing his best in conjunction with everyone else to find better ways to get citizens the relief they desire.