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The Lowndes County Commission voted to pay County Engineer David Butts half of the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director’s salary while he serves as the agency’s interim director. Commissioners also agreed to post an opening for EMA director in county offices for two weeks before running an ad for the position in the newspaper.

Commissioners also heard salary increase requests from E-9-1-1 Director Santina Rogers and County Coroner Terrell Means. The board unanimously approved increasing Rogers’ pay rate by $2 per hour.

Along with a salary and budget increase, Means also petitioned the group for office space, raising concerns about his family’s personal privacy due to visits by private investigators and local families to his home.

“In the last two weeks, I had a private investigator come to my house,” Means said. “I’ve had two or three families popping up at my house, which should be my personal space. The disabled veterans have a place to sit where they are able to meet. You’ve got the sewage board and all these different [groups] that are able to have [space]. I’m asking commissioners to find out if there are any possible ways that I can have some type of privacy.”

King suggested that Means let commissioners know if he locates a space available for his use. If an office is found to be available, King said commissioners would consider the coroner’s use of that space at that time.

In other business, commissioners:

• Heard from Corine Burke, who requested a status on when Johnson Road would be repaved and learned from Butts that work is set to begin in the spring;
• Approved signing a memorandum of understanding with the Alabama Department of Public Health;
• Approved for the Town of Hayneville to use two county voting machines in the next election; and
• Heard an update on personnel policy revisions from Chestnut, who outlines revisions requiring county employees to use clear bags to contain personal items. Chestnut explained that notice of the changes should be posted in public areas before they went into effect.

The next Lowndes County Commission meeting is set for Feb. 24 at 6 p.m.