Personnel changes focus commissioner discussion

Staff personnel changes dominated discussion at the Wednesday, March 13 regular meeting of the Shelby County Commissioners’ Court.

“We have someone who has agreed to do temporary custodian work two or three days a week,” said County Judge Allison Harbison. The county has been soliciting bids for courthouse custodial work following resignation of the previous custodian. According to the judge, the applicant has worked with the previous custodian and has agreed to work until bid opening for a full-time person.

The part-time contract will be an automatic renewal agreement for 30-days at $2,400 a month until a permanent custodian is hired.

“My secretary has asked to go on part time,” Harbison said regarding the judge’s administrative assistant. She would like to keep Indigent Healthcare and be the website coordinator. The new position would be 18 to 28 hours a week.

Compensation was the only topic that sparked any discussion.

“This is a matter of policy …,” County Auditor Clint Porterfield said, noting a starting rate and ending rate scale. According to Porterfield, an employee going from full time to part time usually gives up benefits and goes back to the starting pay rate.

Commissioner, Pct. 4 Tom Bellmyer said he understood the policy, adding that a person going to part time from a full-time position also has “a certain amount of training and experience that you’re paying for,” Tom Bellmyer, Commissioner, Pct. 4 offered. “… there’s a level of experience and you don’t have any required training to go along with that.”

The court approved the new position and set the pay rate at the employee’s current rate.

To replace her current assistant, Harbison requested hiring an administrative assistant at $14, the beginning rate for clerical workers. The court agreed.

Comm., Pct. 1 Roscoe Mc-Swain reported that sand the county has obtained from a location near Joaquin in the past will not be usable for the recently approved pug mill to produce paving material.

McSwain said he has found a sand deposit off Highway 96 South that would work.

He added that the pug mill site will require extensive preparation including a clay foundation pad, and requested a two-year lease from the landowner with the purchase price for the sand of $2 a ton. McSwain also said soil samples analyzed proved satisfactory.

The court then approved the lease after County Attorney John Price said the contract should be on a two-year basis as long as the sand suits the county’s purposes.

County Treasurer Ann Blackwel’s report included: Tax Assessor-Collector, Property $1,602,617.12; Motor Vehicle, $207,777.47 for a total of $1,810,394.59. Jennifer Fountain, County Clerk, $38,429.04. Lori Oliver, District Clerk, $14,307.30.

Donna Hughes, JP Pct. 1, $21,112. Marla Denby, JP Pct. 2, $927. Melba Rodgers, JP Pct. 3, $3,246. De De Green, JP Pct. 4, $5,098.70. Tracy Broadway, JP Pct. 5, $ 10,406.65.

Zach Warr, Constable Pct. 1, $1,060. James Hagler, Constable Pct. 2, $90. Roy Cheatwood, Constable Pct. 3, $250. Taylor Fanguy, Constable, Pct. 4, $91. Josh Tipton Constable, Pct. 5, $450. Shelby County Sheriff’s office, $795 for a total fee collection of $1,906,657.28.

Investments and deposits: Farmers State Bank CD earned $2,027.67. First National Wichita Falls CD earned, $5,226.81. One “small CD” earned $2,098.96 the amount of the CDR is $531,606.66.

“The large CDR” is $2,394,000.67, earned $10,292.51. First National Wichita Falls sweep account earned $20,391.80. Farmers State Bank Money Market earned $1.02. TexPool earned $52,146.02. Total interest earned was $92,184.79 on a book value of investments in CDs of $20,524,881.52.

Interest-bearing checking accounts earned a total of $80.26.

Following executive session, the court approved proceeding with the condemnation process for a piece of property adjacent to the Precinct 4 barn and to hire an independent appraiser to determine the value of the property.

The court also approved purchasing a license for the Guardify program for the District Attorney’s office for a yearly cost of $3,000 for use in transcribing and storing forensic interviews performed at the Shelby County Children’s Advocacy Center.

In other business, the court approved the minutes from its February meetings and approved and paid the weekly expenses and current payroll.