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Residents say five road commissioners owe meeting pay; county attorney says matter is in litigation
Summary
During public comment, residents accused several road commissioners of failing to repay meeting pay for meetings missed in 2019—2020; the county attorney said the dispute is the subject of pending litigation and commissioners and residents exchanged heated words.
Several residents used the commission's public-comment period to accuse road commissioners of owing money for missed meetings, and the meeting record shows a sharp exchange between speakers and commissioners over the accuracy of county payment records.
Gwen Holden told the commission that at the prior meeting Chairman Bobby Hahn had called her a liar after she said five road commissioners still owed the county about $4,600 for meetings they did not attend. "At the last commission meeting, you called me a liar," Holden said.
Linda Noe followed with documents she said supported the claim and cited the highway/road commission private act, saying "upon attending the regular scheduled meetings of the road commission, the road commissioner shall receive his compensation a sum of no less than $200 and the chairman shall receive no less than $350." She told the board she would provide copies of the documents she had gathered and said Commissioner Nicks missed multiple meetings in 2019 and 2020 and that the commissioners were not billed for all missed meetings.
Chris Capps, identified in the meeting as the county attorney, told the commission that the question of whether money is owed for those meetings "is exactly what this lawsuit is about" and that the matter is currently pending in litigation. Later in the meeting, Chairman Hahn said he had shared finance-department information and defended his prior remarks; another speaker, identified in the record as Miss Green, replied: "That lady tells the truth. And yes, you did call her a liar, sir."
No formal determination was made during the meeting; the county attorney flagged the issue as pending litigation. The chair closed the meeting after additional remarks and an announcement that further financial matters would be raised in coming months.
