Madison County’s 911 services will now be under the authority of the county commissioners, not the sheriff.
Outgoing Sheriff Clayton Lowe urged the BOC to make the change Monday. And the board unanimously agreed.
“I’m asking you to put 911 under the county personnel system,” said Lowe. “The sheriff elect said he didn’t care one way or another.”
BOC chairman Wesley Nash asked sheriff-elect Kip Thomas, who defeated Lowe by 68 votes Nov. 4, for his input on the matter.
“I’d like to wait until after the first of the year and discuss it with y’all before moving it back to the commissioners,” said Thomas, who has asked all sheriff’s department, jail and 911 staff to reapply for their jobs.
Lowe said the 911 staff performs a highly technical service and that an overhaul of that crew would prove harmful to the county.
“This gives the (911) employees a little shelter, a little recourse if someone comes in and tells them they don’t have a job as of Jan. 1,” said Lowe, urging support for the change.
Lowe also told commissioners that Thomas told Captain Mike Benner and 911 director David Camp two days after the election that they won’t have a job as of Jan. 1, but then took back the statement. Thomas did not respond after Lowe said this to the commissioners.
“If this stays as it is, we’re going to have a mess,” said Lowe.
Commissioners voiced support for Camp, noting his 911 expertise and involvement in launching the service in the county about a decade ago.
“I have great respect for you (Camp),” said Commissioner Mike Youngblood. “And I spoke with the sheriff elect and I don’t have a problem supporting Clayton’s decision.”
Commissioner Bruce Scogin said Camp is one of the county’s best when it comes to public safety knowledge.
“I hope the sheriff elect is not offended,” said Scogin. “But you (Camp) have done a good job and I want to see you continue.”
They tried to change our form of govt. with no input from the people.
They vote to keep incompetent dogcatchers against the will of the people.
Now, they want to nullify some of the results of a democratic election for sheriff in which the people voted for change.
the reason he tried to get it turned over to the
commissioners is to save the jobs of those that
Kip Thomas was going to fire. just ask around
if this is the type of change we the people voted
for just wait to see what happens at the sherriffs
office, good people will lose their jobs.
its going to be a very very long four years!!!
1.Telling Nash he now has no authority
2.Allowing Fortson to run the county as "county manager" without our authority.
3. Firing Fortson in public because of Nash not having hiring/firing capabilities.
........the list goes on..........
4. Telling a developer he can not have a pool in his defined development that was on the plans originally approved.
Thomas and Youngblood have un-maned pools....
So, the BOC wants the all mighty control of this county........
Nash should feel relieved and Dove should feel optimistic at best....because he isn't going to have as much authority as he thinks......
It's true that Kip Thomas came into the 911 center a couple days after the election and advised David Camp and Ricky Hix that they would be replaced under his administration. He also told 911 Director Camp that all dispatchers would be keeping their jobs, but all would have to re-submit applications. This is not an uncommon practice when a new sheriff is elected. The termination of Camp and Hix was not well-received, and a lot of people considered it a very bad move on the part of the sheriff-elect, myself included. While I certainly didn't agree with the termination, Thomas handled it correctly....... he came in immediately after the election and made his intentions known, and didn't wait unitl the end of the year as a lesser man might have done. And when he realized how many people in this county disagreed with the firing of Camp and Hix, he listened, and came back the very next day to tell Camp and Hix that he had made a mistake and that their jobs were safe. It couldn't have been easy for him to walk back in those doors and rescind their termination, but he did, and that says a lot about his character.
Having 911 under the authority of the Board of Commissioners makes sense. 911 doesn't just answer and dispatch calls for the Sheriff's Office. They are also responsible for Fire/Rescue and EMS call-taking and dispatch, as well as two city police departments. 911 also answers a lot of calls for DNR and Animal Control. Giving that much authority to and putting that much responsibility on just one man doesn't seem prudent. Giving the BOC authority over 911 is a wise decision, and I certainly don't think it was intended to be a slap in the face to the sheriff-elect. 911 may no longer be working for the Sheriff's Office, but is certainly looking forward to having a good working relationship with the Sheriff's Office.
Clayton Lowe has been a good sheriff for the past 12 years, and I will miss him. On January 1st, Kip Thomas will take office. Let's give him the support he needs and give him the opportunity to be a good sheriff too.