The Leflore County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the hiring of Christine Lymon, the chancery clerk-elect, as county administrator.
Lymon said that although she had previously signaled she was not interested in the administrator position, she had changed her mind.
“I’ve thought about it, and I think I can handle it,” she said.
Sam Abraham, the current chancery clerk, also holds both jobs. Lymon has served as an assistant in his office for 28 years.
Details on the salary Lymon will receive as administrator were not available this morning.
The board also approved the drilling of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) observation well on Money Road.
Allen Roberts, a hydrologic technician for the USGS, said the well will record the water level and temperature of the groundwater.
The well on Money Road would be one of many in the Delta, the data from which will be publicly available and provide information on the level and quality of local groundwater.
Roberts said that given the costs involved in setting up observation wells, the USGS does not like to shut them down unless absolutely necessary. Pending approval from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the well will be drilled and maintained at no cost to the county.
Also Monday, District 2 Supervisor Robert Moore brought a motion before the board to pay county employees twice each month instead of once, but the motion died in a 2-2 vote.
“As county administrator, I wouldn’t recommend it,” Abraham said.
Although employees would make the same amount of money under the new pay schedule, the county would have to compile payroll information and write checks twice as often, something Abraham said the county does not currently have the staff to do.
“I can’t see how it benefits them,” said Abraham.
Moore argued that it would be easier for county employees to budget their income if they were paid more frequently.
Moore and District 5 Supervisor Robert Collins voted in favor of the motion, and District 3’s Anjuan Brown and District 4’s Wayne Self voted against it. Because District 1 Supervisor Phil Wolfe was absent, the motion failed.
Collins said he would like to hear arguments for and against the change directly from county employees.
Leflore County Road Manager Jerry Smith said that in his experience, opinions varied widely among county employees. He suggested that the board send out a survey sheet, and a motion to take such a survey passed unanimously.
Moore voiced his reservations, saying that “we’re getting to be a survey kind of board” and that the board should feel free to vote on county matters.
Self said that since Moore had brought the issue to the board on behalf of county employees, surveying those employees was appropriate.
“You’re just a better politician than me, Self,” replied Moore.
The board also approved an employment status change at the Juvenile Detention Center. Elvis B. Henderson, previously a part-time employee, will now work full-time.
• Contact Nick Rogers at 581-7235 or nrogers@gwcommonwealth.com.
