Registrar's Salary Changes—BOC
meeting 4/20/09
Did
you know that the Registrar is not the only person who can register a
voter? People can register to vote at the Probate Court office, at
the Library, and at the Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS)
to name a few other places. Anyone that has been to the Courthouse
has probably seen the Registrar in many other offices. She
may be busy at election time, but currently she does not have a job which
takes up a 40 hour work week or even a 32 hour work week.
The
Commissioners voted in February to cut the Registrar back to 32 hours.
That doesn't mean the Registrar's office isn't open; it is. She has
called in the deputy registrars to sit in the office when she is not
there. If you thought any actual money was being saved, you were wrong.
According
to discussion at the BOC meeting this past Monday night (4/20), the Registrar
can appoint someone to be a Deputy Registrar that will be available during the
hours the Registrar isn't there. This is State Law and you can read it
for yourself OCGA 21-2-212 and following. The Registrar has made requests
to the County Manager
and County Attorney that the Commissioners follow
the law. In fact according to an email sent out by Comm. Cox, the
Registrar has not been happy and has taken every opportunity to show it.
Comm.
Patrick brought that up and appeared to have a copy of the law and stated that
the law said the Registrar had to be paid $61 per day and the Deputy Registrar
had to be paid around $300 per month. (The law actually says $293.29 per
month.)
Comm.
Patrick also proposed paying the deputy registrars appointed by the Grand Jury
minimum wage which will be increasing in July.
The law states that "deputy registrars shall serve without
compensation unless the governing authority of the county, by resolution,
authorizes compensation. OCGA 21-2-213(a)"
Although
this action would save the county $600 a month and not prevent anyone from
registering to vote, the motion failed 3-2 with Cox and Patrick for and the
other 3 commissioners against.
This
was the only thing that really happened in the 35 minute meeting. Citizens had better starting hoping because
TWG isn’t seeing much change.
