County Commission Discusses Election Commission Building, Pay Raises, and More

The Hardeman County Commission met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

Some of the items covered include:

Hardeman County’s Election Administrator Amber Moore expressed “grave concern” {read more about the discussion here} over whether next year’s elections could be held at the current election commission facility in Bolivar. Ms. Moore initially expressed her desire for a new building at the February 2023 meeting of the Hardeman County Commission. { 8:00 minute mark }

The ambulance committee recommend all EMS positions receive a $3 an hour raise {read more about the EMS issue here}, instead of the 5 percent previously approved in the new budget. The $3 raise will guarantee all positions are at $15 an hour or more. The pay raise motion passed unanimously. It was also stated the county will keep the EMS service in house and not bid out the service for now. { 36:00 minute mark }

A positive recommendation came from the budget committee to raise Zoning Director Jim Pierce’s pay by $10,000 annually. It was stated this was because he has extra duties and they would like to add a County Compliance Enforcement Officer. Commissioner Grantham commented the compliance issues mentioned are the state’s responsibility, not the county. It was also said that Pierce’s pay was already increased recently by $10,000 for grant writing. A motion was made to table the request. { 47:00 minute mark }

Attorney Dale Conder requested scheduling an attorney client meeting before next month’s county commission meeting. { 55:00 minute mark }

Commissioners absent from the meeting included Johnny Lanier and Thomas Polk.

Watch the full meeting on the Hatchie Press YouTube channel to see all of the items covered.

The next meeting of the Hardeman County Commission will be Tuesday, August 15, 2023, at 7 p.m. in the Hardeman County Courthouse.

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