County Personnel Policies To Be Topic of Discussion

Jefferson County’s Personnel Committee met for the first time since 2010 on Monday, February 9, 2015. Current members of the Committee include Commissioners Carmichael, Beeler, Turner, Blevins and Musick(absent). Following the election of Commissioner Turner as Chairman, Blevins as Vice Chairman and Musick as Secretary, the discussion turned to the responsibilities of the Committee.

Without clear consensus regarding the boundaries and charge of the Committee, the Committee Chairman will gather information about current County Employment Policies for review.

According to the most recently updated (February 3, 2015) list of Committees and Boards of the Jefferson County Commission, the Personnel Committee is a standing committee, rather than a statutory committee, as it was identified in the Personnel Committee meeting Monday evening. Statutory Committees and Boards are required by the State, while Standing Committees are described by the State as those that the local body develop for internal control and are not required by mandate. The Jefferson County Commission Committee/Board Alpha Chart has 33 Committees and Boards listed, with 20 of those being statutory, 11 being standing committees and 2 as special.

According to Tennessee Code, employment policies are required for the areas of leave, wage and hour, non discrimination and harassment and drug testing for those holding positions that require such testing. Any additional policies that are in place are at the discretion of the County Official who oversees that department. State Law provides that the County Mayor appoint a person or persons, with confirmation of the County Commission, to develop the base personnel policies. The appointees can be a part of the County Commission, a current County employee or elected official or an outside party or agency that has knowledge of the issues. Following the completion of the base policies they must be reviewed by an attorney and then approved by the County Commission. The County Commission can either approve or disapprove of the policies as a whole. If they are not approved, then the policies will be sent back for revision before being resubmitted to the County Commission.

The Personnel Committee was born under Resolution 2007-46, which was adopted on July 16, 2007. According to the resolution, the purpose of the committee is to “approve all new employment positions within the County, excepting the Department of Education. All positions are to be submitted with a detailed job description and a projected annual salary and/or other appropriate compensation package. Such personnel recommendations are then passed on to the Budget Finance Committee for approval or disapproval of funding.” Under the terms of the resolution, Personnel Committee members serve one year terms. It is unclear if the imposed term limits have changed, as the current sitting committee is slotted to serve two year terms.