Washington County personnel policies barely tweaked

FAYETTEVILLE -- A new version of the Washington County Employee Handbook reorganizes county policies, but the draft changes little content, justices of the peace said.

Justice of the Peace Lisa Ecke, a Republican representing southeastern Springdale, presented the Personnel Committee with a draft of the handbook after months of work.

Lawsuit

George Butler, chief of staff for the former county judge, sued Washington County, County Judge Joseph Wood and several employees professionally and individually over how Wood fired several department heads and hired replacements without going through the hiring process described in the county’s employee handbook. The lawsuit, filed in April, was assigned to Circuit Court Judge Gary Arnold on May 30.

Source: Staff report

The draft doesn't delete anything but makes the material more welcoming and readable, said Ecke, committee chairwoman.

"It brings clarity and understanding," she said about the draft.

The new version, which goes to the full Quorum Court for approval, includes a new welcome section and index. It moves sections and definitions into a more logical order, justices of the peace said.

The Welcome to Washington County section includes a paragraph that says: "The handbook will answer many questions you may have about your employment at Washington County. We suggest you become familiar about the handbook as soon as possible." The section also describes how county government works and what elected officials do.

Like items were moved to match like items, said Justice of the Peace Bill Ussery, a Republican representing northeastern Springdale. The newly organized handbook should give justices of the peace a better idea of where policies conflict, he said.

The Personnel Committee can use the newly organized handbook to go line by line in any of the personnel policies and make any needed changes, Ussery said. Ecke said she was unsure whether justices of the peace will make changes beyond organization.

The handbook is composed of county ordinances approved by the Quorum Court.

The draft is under review by County Attorney Brian Lester, who said Friday he hadn't finished reviewing it but plans to recommend an outside lawyer review it. The handbook will come up at the Washington County Quorum Court meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Ecke said she plans to heed Lester's recommendations.

Human Resources Director Michael Watson said Monday it would cost about $3,000 to have a lawyer in private practice review the handbook. Justice of the Peace Eva Madison, a Democrat representing northeastern Fayetteville, said she supports hiring the lawyer to make sure the new version meets all legal requirements.

Lester said he thinks sections of the handbook conflict with each other and state law. Whether to fix those contradictions is up to the Quorum Court, he said.

Lester has told the Quorum Court state law gives the power of hiring and firing employees who report to the county judge solely to the county judge, not the Quorum Court. Justices of the peace cannot dictate or approve positions such as the county attorney, he said.

The Quorum Court has the power to create general policies for hiring employees, according to state law.

Questions about the county's employee handbook arose after County Judge Joseph Wood didn't rehire four longtime employees in December. Wood replaced those employees without following the county's usual hiring process, including advertising and taking resumes or applications.

An Association of Arkansas Counties attorney, representing the county, told justices of the peace in January the positions were never vacant and didn't require following the general policy. A former county employee sued Wood, the county and the new employees individually in April and said Wood is spending tax money on new department heads without following proper hiring practices, according to court documents.

Employees are paying for their own attorney, Lester said. The county is represented by an attorney from the association.

The draft personnel policy states in bold, "Newly elected officials have the authority to bring in new staff." Ecke said nothing has been taken out of the original handbook. Some language was used to clarify, she said.

None of the content changed, said Alicia Deavens, a Republican representing the area west of Farmington.

The new version would be a "starting point," Lester said.

It also may ease tensions by clarifying the handbook's language, said Justice of the Peace Butch Pond, a Republican who represents eastern Washington County.

"Most conflicts are because of a failure to communicate," Pond said. "Usually, people don't have a disagreement; they have a misunderstanding."

NW News on 06/13/2017

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