Information from WYSH Radio
Monday night, the newly-minted Anderson County Finance Committee held its first meeting. The new committee was created when the county switched its financial management system from one based upon a 1957 statute to one based upon a 1981 law. The committee, beginning with next year’s budget cycle, will be responsible for many of the fiscal duties currently held by the county mayor and the Budget Committee, which is chaired and appointed by the mayor.
The new Finance Committee is comprised of four county commissioners—Chuck Fritts, Tim Isbel, Myron Iwanski, and Philip Warfield—as well as County Mayor Terry Frank, Director of Schools Larry Foster, and Highway Superintendent Gary Long. The committee’s first responsibility will be to hire a new county budget director and a new purchasing director as longtime county employees Chris Phillips and Pamela Cotham, respectively, resigned those positions, citing uncertainty brought about by the change in systems. No timetable has been established for those hires but Monday, the committee did agree upon job descriptions and lists of qualifications and responsibilities for both jobs, which will be advertised by the county’s human resources director. The hope is that one or both of the vacant positions can be filled quickly. [Read more…]