The Jackson County Board of Commissioners voted to instruct a ranking committee to review written proposals for legal services and bring back up to four qualified candidates for the board to interview.

An unnamed commissioner (Speaker 5) moved that the ranking committee "rank them and bring that ranking back to us" as a guide for interviews; Speaker 2 seconded the motion. The board voted by a show of hands and the motion passed, with the chair announcing a 4–1 tally in favor.

The ranking committee was named on the record by Speaker 4 as Herman Larmore, Frank Bondurant and former Judge Woodrow Hatcher. Speaker 4 told the commission the committee would rank proposals and refer those rankings to the board, which holds the final hiring authority. "They will just rank them, and then the board will decide who will be hired," Speaker 4 said.

Board members debated whether the board should review all applicant packages or rely on the committee’s shortlist. Speaker 7 objected to removing the board from the process, arguing elected officials should see all applicants; others warned that interviewing every applicant could be impractical and invited protests if shortlisting were perceived as arbitrary.

To reduce the risk of formal protest, Speaker 4 recommended setting a clear interview-count approach in advance. The commissioners settled on a practical compromise: the ranking committee will pare written proposals to a recommended set and bring back the top four qualified applicants for interviews, or all applicants if fewer than four responded.

Staff said written responses to the request for proposals are due on "the fourth" (month not specified in the record). Speaker 4 estimated the ranking committee would need "five to ten days" to review submissions and return a recommendation, and suggested the board could schedule interviews or a special meeting promptly after the committee report.

The board also discussed procedural options if applicants later protested a cut-off; several speakers emphasized the board’s ultimate authority to interview or hire regardless of the committee’s ranking.

Next steps: staff will collect proposals, provide them to the ranking committee, and the commission will receive the committee’s recommendation within the estimated review window for scheduling interviews.