Full commission to review proposed rules changes

The draft brings the rules up to date with various commission actions over the years as well as with new state laws. One change, made in response to state law, will prohibit some county commissioners who are also county employees from voting on matters related to their department. Commissioners prohibited from voting in this manner will not count when determining a majority vote.

If a commissioner was already a county employee before being elected to the commission, the commissioner can still vote, provided he or she reads aloud a disclaimer before doing so. But if a commissioner wasn't hired by the county until after first being elected to office, he or she cannot vote on any matter involving that department. Commissioners Linda Yockey and Jeff Yoes, for example, were both teachers before being elected to office, so they would be able to vote after reading the disclaimer. But commissioner Jimmy Woodson, a former educator, did not re-join the school system as a bus driver until after he was elected to office, so he would not be able to vote on any matter involving the school budget.

One small change suggested Tuesday night was to take the word "workhouse" out of the name of the law enforcement, workhouse and fire committee. County Mayor Eugene Ray, quoting attorney Wyatt Burk, said the state has specific term requirements for a governing committee for a workhouse, and they don't correspond to the manner in which the commission appoints its standing committees. The law enforcement committee hears reports on all aspects of law enforcement but does not actually govern the day-to-day operations of the workhouse, and so it is not the type of workhouse committee referred to in the state law, according to commissioner Tony Barrett. So commissioners took the workhouse reference out of the section of the rules referring to the committee.

In other discussion, the rules committee deferred for one more month a recommendation on naming guidelines for roads and bridges on state highways in the county. The latest draft of the proposed rules was distributed to the committee Tuesday night for study. A provision will be added to the draft stating that it's the responsibility of those requesting a memorial name to pay any related costs. Ray said the state is no longer funding signs for such projects except in the case of veterans killed in military action.