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In a fiery comment to the public at last night’s Barrow County Board of Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Steve Worley said the board "will do what it takes to protect county residents," but it wasn’t aware that the fire department is understaffed – if it actually is.
He was referring to an announcement released last week by the Barrow County Firefighters Association that charged that the elected officials haven’t listened to the former fire chief’s concerns with staffing shortages.
"I’d like to ask the Board of Commissioners if any fire personnel have come to you," Worley said.
The room was quiet, aside from Commissioner Isaiah Berry, who said he hadn’t heard anything about the issue.
Worley said he had previously met with former fire chief Mark Melvin, who announced his resignation last month, and asked him what was the minimum staffing level.
"I was told that four people per shift, per station was what they felt would be a safe number," Worley said.
According to the union statement, staff levels have fell below that number, especially when employees call in sick.
But Tuesday, Worley said if staffing has in fact been a concern, it’s the fire chief’s responsibility to come to the board.
He also said during the budget process, the fire department first requested $429,000 for equipment, but on its second request didn’t ask for any money. And that’s what the budget committee and full board approved.
"Fire knows what they need. If it’s below that, I think the chief needs to come here and tell us," he said. "I take offense to this… Don’t bash the whole board."
Commissioner Chairman Danny Yearwood said he has talked to the interim chief John Skinner and other firefighters and, from his understanding, the letter wasn’t sent on behalf of the whole fire department. Yearwood also said the department has suffered from chronic absenteeism and has had positions open for part-time firefighters.
This week, the county has hired four part-time firefighters.
Commissioner Larry Joe Wilburn also raised concerns with the county’s personnel appeal board, referring to former board member Johnny Smith’s resignation letter.
In the letter submitted this summer, Smith alleges that it’s impossible for any county employee to "get a fair and just hearing" before the review board.
Wilburn said he’s concerned that no one’s checked into Smith’s allegations.
In his Nov. 1 memo to the board, Wilburn said, "This to me is just as serious or more serious allegations than Norma Jean [Brown] has made."
The commissioner also brought up another point on his memo during the meeting, moving that all employee dismissals be presented in written form with supporting documentation to the county attorney prior to termination.
"It’s hard to conduct business on the telephone," Wilburn said Tuesday. "If it’s in writing, it can save us problems in the future."
The board voted unanimously to send all future terminations to the county attorney for approval.
Other items
The board unanimously approved Ronnie Morrow’s appointment to the personnel review board. He will replace Allyson Summerour, who announced her resignation last month. The personnel board is scheduled to hear an appeal later this month.
The board also approved Don Holliday’s appointment to the Airport Authority. He will replace Robert Cartmill, who submitted his resignation last month. Commissioner Ben Hendrix thanked Cartmill for his service.
Commissioners Wilburn and Eva Elder voted against Holliday’s appointment.
The board also gave senior network engineer Sebastian Ododa the go-ahead to have a 10mb cable connection installed in the new fire/E911 building. Windstream will be the service provider and will cost $1,000 a month. The cable will connect the new building to the county Annex.
Wastewater Services Director Mark Whiddon also asked for the approval to establish funding for the county’s sewer projects, including establishing a partnership with Winder and working with the county sewer and water authority.
Whiddon said the Water Authority has agreed to provide the up-front funding for some sewer projects, which the county would eventually repay.
