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By ZACHARY SEIFTER/ Staff Writer

 

The Chilton County Commission held a work session on June 29 to discuss some possible resolutions that could be considered in future meetings.

The most significant resolution being considered is the possible hiring of an operations manager to assist the commission in carrying out tasks assigned to them by the commission.

“We’re not full-time commissioners, and we don’t have a full-time chairman,” Commissioner Jimmie Hardee said. “So, we need somebody as the operations manager.”

The problem with hiring an operations manager is that the commission is not allowed to delegate authority to someone else. The operations manager would answer to the county administrator, so the commission would have to work with the county administrator to give tasks to them.

However, hiring a county manager is also a possibility for the commission.

This person would be given the authority to essentially run the county. They would assume some of the power of the commission as well as the county administrator to carry out resolutions passed.

Hiring a county manager is not that easy though. It requires a change in the form of government in Chilton County. In order to change the form of government, an election would be needed.

It has been done in the past by Shelby County.

“They changed their form of government, and it changed Shelby County forever when they did it,” Commission Chairman Joseph Parnell said.

Parnell went on to say that Shelby County’s switch to county manager Dudchock was a success, and that should Chilton County make the switch they would need to find someone that can have a similar effect.

Further discussion will be needed before a decision on which route to take is made. But the commission is clear on one thing, help is needed.

Also discussed at the meeting was the possibility of a resolution to require that no structures be built within 30 feet of the center of any road in the county.

That resolution was scrapped after the commission determined that a similar resolution had been passed in the past.