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By ZACHARY SEIFTER/ Staff Writer

 

The Chilton County Commission held another work session on Aug. 17 to discuss the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Representatives from different departments came to the commission to discuss possible changes in their budget.

One of the main changes that was common across different departments was a request for more employees. Revenue Commission Tim Little asked to add more employees than anyone else.

Little came to the commission asking for three employees to be added to his staff. He said this would cause the department’s budget to increase by approximately $58,000.

Little said he needs the extra employees for the tag office. He pointed out that the lines are constantly too long and ultimately, it is because of a lack of people.

“We all know what we’ve been facing,” Little said. “There is only one way to fix this problem, and that’s more people.”

Commissioner Jimmie Hardee explored different solutions. He asked why the office was closed from noon-1 p.m. so that everyone could take a lunch break instead of having the employees rotate lunch breaks to keep the doors open all day.

However, that would not fix the problem, as all the employees would still see the same amount of people per day, even with rotating lunch breaks, Commission Chairman Joseph Parnell pointed out.

The commission decided to see if there is room in the budget to give him the additional money needed.

Also discussed at the meeting was the budget for the Probate Office. Probate Judge Jason Calhoun asked for a 3% increase for the employees in the office. The raise would not change his budget much from last year, as a former employee retired, creating room for the increase after re-staffing the position at a lower pay rate.

The commission also looked into a request for an additional $24,800 to be added to the budget for Minooka Park. The additional funding would mainly be used to put down sod at the park.