A member of the citizens advisory committee involved in Lewis County budget discussions has reached out to Men’s Warehouse to request $5,000 worth of suits for the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.
In a September budget meeting, Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer had included a $5,000 allowance for staff uniforms in the form of suits in his budget since his employees are required to dress for court.
The money for the suits was questioned by Central Services Director Steve Walton, who said discretionary costs needed to be reduced to meet the interfund rates set for departments for shared services.
Afterwards, Mitch Townsend, of the advisory committee, contacted the president of Men’s Warehouse to see if they could help by donating the suits.
“I decided that there are certain elements of the budget we all have ideas for and decided to communicate to the president of Men’s Warehouse that we needed help,” Townsend said.
Meyer in a meeting on Tuesday said he contacted the company to ensure clothes would also be provided for his female employees. During that meeting, he said he hadn’t heard back from the company yet.
Townsend said the move is an example of a “new way of thinking” that needs to be undertaken to help cut costs.
Currently commissioners are looking at a $1.2 million difference between revenue and expenditures for the 2018 year.
“These are the collaborative approaches we need to undertake,” Townsend said. “We have to adapt.”
