Personnel policy, execution of board directives and improving customer service were on the minds of commissioners during the first workshop of the new year Jan. 7 at the United Bank lake house.
Commission chairman Doug Mangham and commissioners Don Collins, Parrish Swift and Roosevelt Willis met in the morning and were joined by commissioner Tommy Powers and county manager Steve Marro after lunch.
Marro agreed to send the same communications to commissioners as he does to department heads. He noted much of the work is turned over to county attorney Rob Morton, who performs it on a priority basis.
As county manager, Marro heads county personnel with the authority to hire and fire.
There was also concern about if employees have adequate training to perform their jobs.
"I for one don't know all the qualifications of the people who work here," Marro said.
Department heads have the authority to hire and fire their employees.
Finance technician Sean Townsend recently attended training to become a certified finance officer level one.
Willis said he may be going to learn what he should already know.
"You're in charge of that budget," Willis replied.
Collins asked Marro to address customer service by county employees.
To aid the flow of information to citizens, commissioners asked Marro to post monthly financial reports and meeting minutes on the county website. Powers said commissioners voted to have the information posted.
"You're dumping more and more work on people who already have too much for a 40 hour week," Marro said.
Citizen interference was among Marro's concerns. He said there are problems with the budget process because of citizen interference. He said they also display a disrespectful attitude toward commissioners and fail to understand a county manager form of government.
