Politics & Government
Oconee County Commissioners Delay Effort By Chairman To Assert Power On Human Resources
Davis acknowledged that he had inserted the references to the chair in the document after an earlier version had been circulated.
Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis’ attempt to get himself named as an equal to county Administrative Officer Jeff Benko in the county’s Human Resources Policies and Procedures manual ran into opposition Tuesday night.
Commissioner John Daniell, in a methodical analysis of the 42-page document, asserted repeatedly that the reference to the chair should be removed in all but one place to leave Benko as the person in charge of administration of the policies spelled out in the document.
Davis acknowledged that he had inserted the references to the chair in the document after an earlier version had been circulated, saying all he was trying to do was make sure that someone was present with authority in the case of an emergency.
Commissioner Jim Luke was unpersuaded, saying that it was simply another attempt by Davis to get power that the commissioners had delegated to the administrative officer.
In the end, Daniell and Luke gained some support from Commissioner Mark Saxon, and the Board took no action on the document, at least until next week.
For more on the story, go to Oconee County Observations.