Commissioners approve hiring 9‑1‑1 director from out of state, authorize $3,000 moving stipend

The Washington County Commissioners Court approved hiring a candidate for the county's 9‑1‑1 director position and authorized a $3,000 moving stipend at its Dec. 2 meeting.

Personnel committee lead Miss Scalcom told the court the committee conducted two rounds of interviews using a recruiting service and selected a candidate currently employed as a 9‑1‑1 director out of state. The candidate was described as having 18½ years of experience, including roughly 10 years in Tennessee and 8½ years in Colorado; the candidate has served progressively from dispatcher to operations manager to 9‑1‑1 director in the current agency.

Miss Scalcom said the candidate requested a $3,000 moving stipend, to be paid half on acceptance and half on the first payroll, and indicated an anticipated start date of Jan. 12, 2026, contingent on a background check by the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The committee described its panel as comprehensive and inclusive of fire, EMS and law‑enforcement representatives.

The court discussed budgeted amounts: staff said the budgeted salary for the position is $105,000 for the current year and $108,000 in the next year's budget. The committee asked the court to approve a hire at a pay rate that would exceed the 6% allowable increase set by county policy; the transcript records the committee's requested hire figure as approximately $95,086 as presented in the meeting. A motion to hire the candidate at the proposed terms and stipend was moved and seconded; the court voted to approve the hire.

The court recorded the hire as carried; the transcript did not include a roll‑call tally by commissioner name.

(Reporters: Item 7 on the Dec. 2 agenda.)