Sheriff’s Budget, Lay Offs Dominate Commission Meeting By Cathy Patton WELCH – Budget issues and employee lay offs dominated the regularly scheduled McDowell County Commission meeting Wednesday evening, May 28. Attorney Amanda Gardner, Beckley, counsel for McDowell County deputies, addressed the Commission in regard to overtime pay and remediation of salary differences. Noting that “comp time is of no value” to the deputies, Gardener asserted, “The Commission has a legal duty to pay the overtime”, and later added, “We can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way.” Sheriff Martin West, who arrived at the meeting a few minutes late because he was participating in a meth lab bust, quickly explained his budget woes when his agenda items arose. West said that deputies were given comp time for their overtime work because there was no funds in his budget to pay them. West said he stopped the comp time when he discovered it was illegal the way it was being applied and that the overtime began to rapidly accrue in January. Taking exception to a remark by Commission President Gordon Lambert that asked, “Do we have to give them (the Sheriff’s Office) all our money?”, West responded, “We are not recklessly running up bills. We have to work holidays, and get called out in the middle of the night. We can’t cut it out. Things need to be done. We’re liable for not responding (to calls).” West added that the previous administration caused the problem with the disparity in deputy pay because the former sheriff hired two new deputies at a higher salary than what the older ones were being paid. Commissioner Lambert said, “No decision will be made today. We have to look at it and see what we need to do.” Commissioner Hicks opined, “The Commission and the Sheriff’s Office are liable for violations of labor laws.” County Prosecutor/Commission Attorney Ed Kornish advised the Commission, “The overtime absolutely has to be paid,” and suggested that it would be a good idea for the former sheriff to appear before the Commission and explain the pay difference. County Clerk Don Hicks said that he would issue the subpoena. During the discussion on the budget shortfalls and county finances, Commissioner Lambert said that the county recently settled a $375,000 lawsuit in the Farmer case and that the county’s deductible in the case was $25,000. Lambert said there are two to three other pending lawsuits. In another budget related matter, the Commission entered a 55-minute executive session with Administrator Jennifer Wimmer and Assistant County Administrator Clif Moore in regard to the layoff of employees. Upon returning at 6:05 p.m., Commissioner Lambert said that he and Bailey would sit down with Administrator Jennifer Wimmer and Assistant Administrator Clif Moore and “collectively” decide on who would be laid off. Commissioner Ray Bailey read the highlights of the executive session and then made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Lambert, that the Commission cut $150,000 from the county budget in the form of employee layoffs. Bailey said that the administrator and the assistant administrator would make the recommendation as to who should be laid off and that the Commission would make the final decision. Bailey said the employees who were being laid off would be notified in a letter attached to their paychecks two days later on May 30 and that the layoff would go into effect midnight, May 30. Sheriff West objected to the employee layoffs, stating, “It’s not because of the Sheriff’s Department. It’s your mismanagement.” At the conclusion of the meeting, Commission PR Director Cathy Patton publically addressed Commissioner Lambert and stated that two elected officials had previously informed her that Commissioner Lambert had already specifically mentioned her name in regard to layoffs. County Clerk Don Hicks opined that a great deal of wrong had been done and commented, “It’s all politics.” County employees ended up receiving their paychecks the next day, Thursday, May 29, and eight employees were laid off. Those employees are: Denise Church, Karen Hughes, Clif Moore, Frances Hale, Jerry Stepp, Dean Pruett, Kevin Sturgell and Cathy Patton. In other matters, the Commission approved minutes from the regular May 14 meeting and tabled minutes from May 19 and May 23, approved Probate, Tax Exonerations, background checks for future hiring, a request by Joel Stanley for the cleanup of the restrooms at Paul Jones Park and new hires for the Stevens Correctional Facility and bills. The new hires for Stevens are Rolena Seabolt, Jeremy Vanover, Tracy Shumate, Anthony Horne, Jr., Robert McRenolds an Philip Walker. Bills to be paid included $7,605.12, General County; $54,232.93, Coal Fund and $261,996.62, Correctional Facility, for a total of $323,834.67. In addressing the Commission in regard to a new $7,500 heating and cooling unit recently installed at the courthouse, Hicks said that unit was necessary records will degrade if not kept at the correct temperature. However, he said he is concerned because the contractor who installed the unit has not supplied his contractor’s license or a breakdown of the cost of items related to the installation. In another matter related to his office, Hicks said the Commission can add to an approved budget but cannot reduce it. Hicks said the Commission added an additional $78,000 to his budget during the 2013/2014 budget hearings. However, during a November, 2013 meeting, the Commission voted to remove the increase from his budget. Commissioner Lambert said he’d like to see the proof of Hicks’s assertion and Hicks then read the official minutes from the record. Hicks insisted that he would not return the officially approved budget increase to the Commission. Jessie McPeak, West Virginia’s most highly decorated Vietnam Veteran and volunteer at the Visitors and Veterans Center, appeared before the Commission to request $2500 for repair of the center’s heating and cooling system. In replying to Commissioner Lambert’s inquiry, county attorney Kornish said that the money in the special coal severance fund could only be used for infrastructure projects and could not be legally utilized for that type of repair work. Don Hicks then asserted that he would personally cosign for a loan for the repairs of the heating and cooling system at the V&V Center and instructed McPeak to go visit a local bank and set it up. Commissioner-elect Cecil Patterson, who will assume office in January, was in attendance at the meeting but Commissioner Harold McBride was absent. The Commission meets in regular session, 4 p.m., on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. For additional information on Commission activities, contact County Administrator Jennifer Wimmer at 304-436-8548.
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 15:40:19 +0000
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