BY ANDY  TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

INDEPENDENCE — County commission chambers will be permanently relocated to the basement of the Montgomery County Judicial Center under a plan adopted by commissioners on Monday.

Commissioners agreed to proceed with using the northern portion of the judicial center basement as the location for commission meetings and an adjacent conference room. The basement is now used for large gatherings and other community meetings.

Tony Fowler, commission chairman, said the relocation was necessary so that the existing commission chambers can be converted into the office for the human resources director. The human resource director currently shares a desk in a portion of the county clerk’s office.

Robert Bever, public works director, anticipated that the cost to erect walls and establish telephone/internet utilities in the basement for the new commission chambers will be about $15,000, half of which will be in material costs.

While the public works department crews establish the walls for the commission chambers and an adjacent commission chambers, the commission will meet in the south portion of the basement to conduct weekly commission meetings. The commission will begin meeting in the judicial center basement next Monday, July 6.

In another related matter, commissioners agreed to direct Shawn Wallis, human resources director, to establish the job duties and job description for the position of commission secretary. The commission currently does not have a secretary — a post that was dissolved by commissioners in 1997.

Fowler said he envisioned the secretary answering to the commission chairman and handling routine activities, such as taking telephone messages, handling mail and preparing the commissioners’ weekly meeting packets.

Asked how those duties were currently being handled, Fowler said the commission relies on the work of the county clerk’s office.

Fowler emphasized that the commission secretary would not be a new position but the combined duties of several secretaries into one job.

The Montgomery County Chronicle pressed Fowler for the amount of work that the secretary would perform each week. Charlotte Scott-Schmidt, county clerk, said her office receives as many three telephone calls per week — and sometimes zero phone calls on a weekly basis — for the commissioners. One of the deputies in her office handles the preparation of the weekly commission meeting agenda while Scott-Schmidt herself handles the transcribing of letters on behalf of the commission.

Fowler said he was against having another elected official — in this case, the county clerk — handling the routine duties for the county commission.

“That would be like me having the county treasurer take care of writing my letters,” said Fowler.
Fowler also said he believed that having a secretary handle routine duties would enable him to conduct more efficient meetings.

“I’ve got proof right here,” he said, pointing to the commission meeting agenda, which was more than one hour behind schedule toward the end of Monday’s weekly meeting. “I believe there is ample stuff for a secretary to do.”

Fowler said the commission secretary would be a part-time position.

The recording of the commission meeting minutes will continue to be performed by the county clerk’s office.