Freestone County commissioners and county staff discussed whether the county must advertise job openings when a part-time county employee is later made full-time and agreed to gather comparative policies and clarify handbook language; the meeting record shows no formal vote on the matter.

The discussion focused on whether the county’s current employee handbook and county practice exempt part-time positions from advertisement and whether that exemption can be used when a part-time hire later becomes full-time. A county official said, “we have talked about whether or not we would have to advertise if we are moving a part time person into a full time position.”

County officials said the handbook language is ambiguous. One commissioner suggested emphasizing or bolding specific wording in the Freestone County employee handbook to make clear whether the exemption applies to part-time positions only or also to conversions from part time to full time. “I think clarification would be… if we’ll decide,” an official said during the discussion.

Arguments during the discussion split along two lines: legal risk and equal-opportunity protection versus administrative cost and speed. Several officials cautioned that failing to advertise a position that will become full-time could expose the county to legal challenge by applicants who claim they were denied the opportunity to apply. “It’s so easy for somebody to file a suit or something on you for not doing the proper advertising for a position,” an official said. Other officials noted advertising costs and the time delay in filling vacancies: “Why spend all that money advertising if you don’t have to?” one official asked.

County staff said they could collect policies from other counties and present sample handbook language. One participant summarized the practical starting point: obtain other counties’ policies and then revise the handbook text to state explicitly whether part-time positions or conversions are exempt from advertisement.

The commissioners also discussed the county’s current reading of the handbook, which they described as allowing exemption from advertisement when the position being filled is part time, regardless of the candidate’s origin. One official read an example clause aloud: “Positions for part time employees as divided by section 1a-2 of Freestone County employee handbook and the positions being filled by a transfer of a full time regular county employee are exempt from the advertisement requirements,” and other officials noted that the clause, as written, appears to describe transfers to part-time positions rather than conversions from part time to full time.

No statute, ordinance number, or formal rule was cited on the record; one speaker referred generically to “statute” without naming a code. Rather than adopt an immediate policy change, the court directed staff to collect comparative policies from other counties, check with the tax office for any internal concerns, and return with clarified handbook language and background information. A motion to “take them” (the materials under discussion) was made and seconded on the record, but the transcript does not show a formal roll-call vote or a recorded tally.

The discussion also referenced an unrelated personnel note: Michelle Wind, a long-time Freestone County tax office employee, announced she will retire at the end of the month. That announcement was made separately from the hiring-policy discussion.

Next steps recorded in the discussion include staff outreach to other counties, a review of the handbook language (with suggested emphasis or rewording to remove ambiguity), and confirmation from the tax office before finalizing any change. The court did not adopt a definitive new requirement during the meeting.