Court advances second reading of admin code changes; emergency management director job deferred

The court held a second reading July 10 of multiple administrative code changes and approved the revisions with limitations. Proposed edits included rescheduling certain holiday meetings to the day before observed holidays at 8:30 a.m., removing detailed sick‑leave language from one policy section, and switching the compensation increase from a flat 1% to a CPI‑based adjustment (the CPI this year cited in discussion was about 2.20%).

Magistrates debated whether the emergency management (EM) director should be classified and budgeted as a full‑time position. Several members said the EM director role entails substantial duties (LEPC chair responsibilities, hazardous materials reporting, and continuity planning) and warrants detailed review. The court agreed to defer final action on the EM director's job description and salary level until members could circulate and review two versions: the older job description and a revised, more expansive draft. One magistrate said they would not support the second reading if the disputed EM job description remained attached; after removing or separating that portion for later action, the remainder of the code changes passed.

Action: The court passed the second reading of the administrative code changes excluding the EM director job description (motion passed; recorded votes included multiple ayes and a recorded no tied to the job description inclusion). Staff were directed to circulate the EM job descriptions to commissioners and return with a separate order and attached job description when finalized.