While county commissioners took no action in Monday’s work session, members discussed amending, revising and/or repealing policies and procedures related to their meetings, county operations and fiscal matters.
In suggesting the changes, Lee County Administrator Roger Rendleman asked members to adopt the new manual as a new starting point for all of the county’s non-personnel policies.
The commission members first “looked in the mirror” and discussed their own behavior at commission meetings. Rendleman said in a lot of instances the commission passes a policy, but does not follow it.
In his written recommendation, he said, “We tend to deviate from the Rules of Debate’s Decorum Section. A good amount of time is spent interrupting one another and/or engaging in other conversions while another commissioner or citizen has the floor. Many negative comments have been made by the citizens in the audience ... when this occurs.”
He said, “When the conversations are going on, the comments we get from the citizens are not very becoming.”
Rendleman recommended commissioners “at least follow the intent of the policy.”
Members suggested limiting how long citizens will be able to address the commissioners, rather than limiting the number of people who could speak on a subject.
Part of the the two-hour work session was spent discussing the funding of outside agencies.
He said there are procedures the commission needs to do to follow in order to stay within the guidelines of the state auditors. He used funding of outside agencies as the example.
“For those appropriations that are not to another governmental entity, we need to have a contract with them actually specifying what specific services we are specifically requesting them to provide for us,” Rendleman said.
“The only thing guiding these things over time has been is it legal or illegal,” he said.
Other items commissioners discussed included bonding, fixed assets disposal, cell phone usage and long distance services, travel policies and use of the county credit card, legal services, a strategic plan as well as work on commission property.
Members have voted to meet in a work session Monday, July 28, from noon to 4 p.m. related to hearing presentations from companies regarding the county’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan. They meet in the Lee County Courthouse, Commission Chambers, 215 South 9th Street, Opelika. The next regular meeting of the commission will be later that day at 6 p.m.
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