By Ray King
Appropriation ordinances to create a grant administrator and a multimedia coordinator for Jefferson County failed during meetings of Quorum Court committees Tuesday night.
The Grant Administrator was defeated by a vote of 7 to 5 with one justice of the peace absent from the meeting while the multimedia coordinator was tabled by an identical 7-5 vote.
After the meeting, County Judge Gerald Robinson was asked his feelings about the votes and responded this way.
According to the grant administrator ordinance, that person would be paid $65,000 and would serve as the county’s chief grant researcher and writer. In addition, the person would be responsible for overseeing the county’s grant management process to include monitoring compliance provisions of the grants and completing all reporting requirements.
The multimedia coordinator would, among other things, write, proofread and edit county informational material and plan and public communications across multimedia platforms. The salary for that position was listed as $41,000.
Also failing to win approval was an ordinance that would have reduced salary for a housekeeper at the juvenile detention center by $10,000. The current salary for that position is $40,853.84.
Robinson said several years ago, the person in that position was being paid for a full time job at the juvenile center, and also received an additional $10,000 for working part-tie after completing their full-time duties. He said state auditors recommended combining the two salaries into one which was done. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office said the position is currently vacant but when it is filled, the person filling it will be required to perform housekeeping and laundry duties, the same two jobs a previous employee who was paid $40,000 plus performed.
