Jackson County Treasurer Renee Howard presented bids for approval on property acquired at resale at the Dec. 10 meeting of the Jackson County Commissioners. Howard presented to the Board of Commissioners bid offers on two properties which were acquired at Resale totaling $600. The information on the properties is as follows: 409 S. Washington (Kizziar 5^th: Block 4, Lot 7) bid offer $500; 413 S. Washington (Kizziar 5^th: Block 4, Lot 8) bid offer $100. A motion was made by Fixico and seconded by Carrell to accept both offers as presented and proceed with the Commissioner’s Sale.

A motion was made by Commissioner Carrell and seconded by Commissioner Fixico to approve the request to have the following items for the Assessor’s Office declared surplus: 1999 Ford Ranger Pickup( VIN-1FTYR10CXXUB22943); Compaq Computer & monitor (USW3190CDJf); Compaq Computer & monitor (USW3190CDK); HP Compaq Computer (USW3450BWQ); Compaq Computer & monitor (USW3450BWS); HP Compaq Computer (USW3450BWR); All computers from po #1182 from May 5, 2003; CPQ Presario 12XL300 Laptop Compaq (1V09FP4BV8XA). Fixico, Clinton and Carrell as voted yes.l

A motion was made by Fixico and seconded by Carrell to approve the designation of Kirstie English to act as requisitioning officer for highway and general accounts as follows: All Highway Cash Funds, CBRI 103 & 105, JCRFD, R-2, R-3, R-1C, R-3CI, R-1A, D-2, D-3, D-1C, D-1A, SD-2, SD-3, SD-1C, SD-1A, EMPG: and removing Robin Booker from the same accounts. All voted yes.

A motion was then made by Carrell and seconded by Fixico to approve the designation of Christine Leveille and Keith Osborne to act as receiving officers for all accounts as follows: JCRFD, R-2, R-3, R-1C, R-3CI, R-1A, D-2, D-3, D-1C, D-1A, SD-2, SD-3, SD-1C, SD-1A, EMPG: and removing Kirstie English. All voted yes.

There was then consideration and possible action on approval of Personnel Policy for Jackson County on the agenda. County Assessor, Gerald Sherrill, mentioned a couple of concerns; the index refers to page numbers, but no pages are numbered; during inclement weather, it states the Chairman of the Board will call employees for returning to work, it should read the elected official for each office will be called and the official will call his or her employees; there were a couple of items which had been duplicated. Some of the needed changes had already been made after the e-mails were sent to the officials. After some discussion and with the understanding the needed changes would be made to the policy, a motion was made by Carrell and seconded by Fixico to approve Resolution #2012-44 reads as follows: Jackson County has determined there exists a need for an Employee Personnel Policy Handbook which is uniformly applied to all employees of Jackson County, and Whereas the elected officials of Jackson County have determined that an Employee Personnel Policy Handbook will significantly improve communications between the County and its employees, and Whereas the elected officials of Jackson County have determined that a written Employee Personnel Policy Handbook promotes fairness in employment and assists in the prevention of discrimination in employment of any nature. Now, therefore, Be It Resolved that pursuant to Okla. Sta. Ann. Tit. 19, Section 339, Jackson County, by a majority vote of the elected officials, does hereby adopt the Employee Personnel Policy Handbook for Jackson County.

THE VOTE: Fixico, aye; Clinton, aye; Carrell, aye; LeVick, aye; Sherrill, aye; Stepanovich, aye; Howard, aye; Hair, abstain .

The next agenda item was consideration and possible action on approval of Drug Policy for Jackson County. County Assessor, Gerald Sherrill, questioned one statement which read that if an accident occurs while on the job, post-accident testing at the job is required. He questioned if that statement should be changed to read if an accident occurs. He argued that if an employee has an accident when not on the job, they should be tested as well. Commissioner Carrell responded by stating that because it is illegal for an employee to use county property anytime other than during regular business hours, that employee could be prosecuted. A motion was made by Carrell and seconded by Fixico to approve the updated Drug Policy for Jackson County. All voted yes.

Consideration and possible action on approval of Travel Policy for Jackson County: County Assessor, Gerald Sherrill, brought up the fact that according to the ACCO website, as per Oklahoma Statutes, the Board of Commissioners cannot write policy. Policies must be voted and approved by a majority of all elected officials. He further argued that the State of Oklahoma has written a State Travel Reimbursement Act and questioned how it would benefit the county to write its own policy. Commissioner Clinton argued that the county cannot go more lenient than this Act, but can go stricter. Sherrill argued that all elected officials submit an estimate of needs, and once that budget has been approved, the Commissioner’s should not tell the other officials how or where to spend that money. He stated that the Commissioners are making sure the claim is legitimate, and once that has been established it is not the place of the Commissioners to dis-allow it. He questioned the statement which requires payment to be made from original folio receipt as opposed to invoice received in the mail. He argued that if you eat breakfast in the hotel café, those charges may not be added until later in the day. There was some discussion about mandatory tips, such as when a large group eats and the tip is added to the ticket. Sherrill argued that when we ask an employee to go to class to better themselves and receive education which helps them perform their duties more efficiently, they should not have to pay any expenses out of their own pocket. There was discussion whether it is legal for the county to pay tips. Commissioner Clinton argued that everyone is trying to do what is best for the county, but the tips should not be an expense to the county. Robin Booker stated that as she remembered, during a past audit, the county had a write-up for paying tips. It was argued that mandatory tips have been paid since then, and nothing has ever been said by the auditor’s. After further discussion, it was agreed that more questions need to be answered before an agreement can be made. A motion was made by Fixico and seconded by Carrell to table this item. All voted yes.