The
commission on Tuesday found itself not only divided over who to hire as county
attorney but over which rules the board follows when conducting business.
The
county commission voted in December to seek proposals from attorneys and law
firms in an effort to save money on their legal costs.
Five
attorneys from around the area put in bids – the commission held interviews
earlier this month but were unable to reach a decision on the issue after one
commissioner refused to vote after receiving threats over the issue.
The
board on Tuesday decided to table the issue for another two weeks after its
discussions deteriorated into an argument over which rules govern board actions.
That
issue arose after Commissioner Noah Lockley made a motion to keep Michael
Shuler as county attorney, even though the same motion failed two weeks ago.
Commissioners
Pinki Jackel and Cheryl Sanders said under board rules Noah couldn’t even make
the motion because he had been on the losing side of the same motion two weeks
earlier.
Commissioner
Lockley said he would like to see that rule in writing; but since the
commission has never adopted rules of order, there is no written set of standards
for the commission to follow.
Clerk
of the Court Marcia Johnson said she thinks the entire hiring process has been
unfair to the current County Attorney
She
called it politics at its worst, adding that she is embarrassed to be a
politician in Franklin county right now and recommended the board should just
reject all the proposals and stick with the current county attorney for the
time being.
Commissioners
almost took that step – but after confusion over what motions had actually been
made and by whom the board wound up voting to table the issue for another two
weeks.
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