County rescinds vote to give sheriff’s dept. bonus

Published 2:01 pm Tuesday, December 29, 2015

The Chilton County Commission unanimously voted Monday to rescind a motion made Dec. 14 to approve a one-time bonus for sheriff’s department employees.

After meeting in executive session for roughly 15 minutes to discuss a pending legal matter, commissioners opened the meeting up into regular session and voted to rescind a motion made during the Dec. 14 meeting to approve a one-time bonus for sheriff’s department employees.

Commissioner Joseph Parnell said he wanted to rescind the motion made on Dec. 14 due to legal counsel that under the county’s current structure it would not work to approve the bonus.

Parnell’s original motion was that contingent on county administrator Connie Powell’s findings and the legality of giving a one-time bonus, the commission would approve up to $40,000 for the sheriff’s department.

The topic was originally brought up during the Nov. 23 commission meeting by Parnell.

Parnell told commissioners he wanted the commission to consider approving a raise for the sheriff’s department if funds were available.

During the Nov. 23 meeting, Parnell said he wanted to approve a resolution telling members of the sheriff’s department they would receive some sort of pay increase.

Commissioners plan to discuss the sheriff’s budget during a work session that was previously scheduled for Jan. 12, 2016, at 4 p.m. at the Chilton County Courthouse.

In other news, the commission:

•Approved to re-classify Rodney Hurst from part-time to full-time with the Chilton County Sheriff’s Department.

•Appointed Benitha Childers to the Chilton-Clanton Public Library Board for a term of one year beginning Oct. 1 and ending Oct. 1, 2016.

•Appointed Chilton County Probate Judge Bobby Martin to the Mental Health Board of Chilton and Shelby Counties.

•Approved a resolution seeking nominations to appoint an alternate member to the M4A Board for Fiscal Year 2016.

•Approved a resolution approving activation of the alarm system at the house located on the Industrial Park property near the interstate. The installation fee is $150 for Wi-Fi service and $40 per month monitoring through Martin Security. The commission designated Allen Caton as the point of contact in case of emergency.

•Approved a resolution authorizing Caton to sign a tank rental agreement for a propane tank with Thompson Gas Company.

•Approved a resolution to authorize Caton or commission vice chairman Joe Headley to open an account with Chilton Water Authority for the house located at the Industrial Park. A $100 deposit is required, a copy of the deed, and a copy of the driver’s license of the person establishing the account.

•Approved a resolution to approve employee donations of time to Cindy Jones in the Chilton County Tag Department.