The Owen County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 9 held a business-heavy meeting that opened with election of officers and included several formal votes: the board approved payroll and claims, relieved the county’s sitting attorney of county duties effective Jan. 31 and voted to hire outside counsel on a six-month trial contract. Commissioners also advanced plans to create a county human-resources administrator, accepted the resignation of the 911 dispatch director and instructed the 911 advisory board to begin recruiting a replacement.

The session began with nominations for board officers. Pastor Hobbs was nominated and approved as president and Dave Riss was approved as vice president by voice vote. The board then set liaison assignments for elected and appointed offices: the president will serve as liaison to the auditor’s office and Riss was assigned as liaison to the county highway department. Commissioners said those temporary liaison assignments will be revisited in February after legal review.

Why it matters: The personnel changes and new legal counsel reshape who advises the three-member board on pending and potentially sensitive matters; the stated plan to add a human-resources administrator and to reassert formal lines of communication on 911 operations are intended to address recurring personnel and process complaints the board said it has received.

Attorney contract and outside counsel

Commissioners discussed the county attorney’s contract and a period of week-to-week coverage. The board voted to relieve the existing county attorney of county duties effective Jan. 31. Commissioners then voted to engage outside counsel Tony Overholt of Frost Brown Todd on a six-month contract to provide county legal services for the commissioners while the board evaluates longer-term counsel needs. Overholt, introduced at the meeting, said he has more than 30 years’ experience representing local governments and would draft a short-term engagement for the board to approve.

The board described the temporary hire as a trial period to allow counsel to review county records and advise the commissioners on ongoing legal questions that the meeting flagged but did not detail publicly. Commissioners said they expect Overholt to coordinate with the county attorney’s office and the county council’s counsel and to avoid receiving a flood of direct contacts from department heads — the board asked department heads to route requests for legal review through the commissioners’ office.

Human resources, employee handbook and testing

Commissioners moved to create a county human-resources administrator position and directed staff to present a job description and proposed salary level to the county council. The board voted to send the proposed position to the council for consideration at its next meeting; commissioners said they want the council involved in funding and job-structure decisions because county HR affects every department and employee.

Commissioners and staff described several tasks the new HR administrator would take on: drafting a corrected employee handbook, managing insurance and benefits administration, administering countywide drug screening and establishing consistent hiring and disciplinary processes that the board said should not be handled ad hoc by office staff. The board discussed whether the position should be a county employee or an outside contractor and asked outside counsel to advise; a repeated point was that HR must be independent of day-to-day supervisory relationships so employees feel safe raising concerns.

911 dispatch and advisory board

The board accepted the resignation of the 911 dispatch director and voted to direct the 911 advisory board to post the position immediately and to screen applicants. Commissioners emphasized the advisory board’s continuing role under county ordinance: the board said the advisory body is to assist with 911 policy and procedures, review purchases that would affect other public-safety agencies and recommend candidates for director. The commissioners directed that the advisory board — with participation from fire, EMS, law enforcement and county representatives — meet quickly to clarify the ordinance language and vet the job description, then bring a recommendation back to the commissioners.

The meeting included extensive discussion about a prior procurement of an emergency medical dispatch (EMD/EMV) software package (about $50,000 in prior action), which some first responders questioned because they said the product’s capabilities had been mischaracterized and that the change could affect responder procedures. Commissioners said prior poor communication between the director, the advisory board and first-responder agencies led to friction and that the advisory board should be more actively involved in future purchases that affect field operations.

Credit cards, claims and local contracting

The board addressed county procurement and payment practices. Commissioners approved a motion directing the auditor to seek new county-issued credit cards that (1) show “Owen County” or departmental names rather than individuals’ personal names, (2) be issued under the county tax ID, and (3) require a commissioner’s signature for issuance. Commissioners said the county currently has four department credit cards (highway, sheriff, dispatch, EMS) with $2,000 limits, that two previously issued cards were closed at a bank, and that some employees recently faced declined-card incidents. The board also instructed departments that regular (on-cycle) claims must be submitted on time and that out-of-cycle claims should be reduced except for utilities and other unavoidable bills.

Several commissioners emphasized their preference to use local contractors when feasible and to ensure those local vendors understand the county’s claim cycle so invoices do not get delayed.

Financial approvals, copier and ADA evaluations

The board approved payroll for Dec. 27, 2024 totaling $283,559.42, record claims of $501,574.31 and out-of-cycle claims of $323,208.63. Commissioners also approved minutes for the Dec. 18, 2024 meeting.

The auditor requested a color copier/printer to ensure certain reports (notably election and audit documents) print legibly; the board approved purchasing a color-capable machine and asked to hold a department-head meeting with the county’s copier vendor to review performance and service issues.

The board approved proceeding with an Americans with Disabilities Act access/site evaluation contract (a $40,000 site-assessment contract divided over multiple years in prior budgeting) and authorized the auditor to move budget lines so the evaluations can proceed; the board named the highway department, EMS and several county-owned facilities among the priority sites.

Other business

The board voted to authorize the sheriff to surplus specified county vehicles and place them for public auction, with auction proceeds to be deposited to vehicle-repair funds. The meeting also included discussion about the courthouse west-wall repair (a $5,200 claim to cover drywall over a failing brick area for safety), and the board directed staff to obtain more detailed cost estimates to restore historic brickwork where feasible.

What’s next

Commissioners scheduled several follow-up items: (1) the county attorney and the three commissioners will meet with relevant department heads to review concerns raised about highway operations and personnel; (2) the 911 advisory board will meet to rewrite or clarify the advisory-board ordinance language and to begin director recruitment; (3) the HR administrator job description and proposed funding will be brought to the county council for review; and (4) county staff will pursue new county credit card arrangements and a color copier contract review with the vendor.

Ending

Commissioners closed the meeting urging department heads and residents to bring documented items to public sessions and to cooperate with the board’s priority of stabilizing county operations and improving communication. The board said several items raised at the meeting would require legal review and follow-up and that additional meetings and reports will be scheduled in February.