Former Oktibbeha County Circuit Clerk Angie McGinnis will serve as interim circuit clerk until a new leader for the office is picked in Nov. 7’s special election.
Supervisors voted 4-1 to appoint McGinnis after other potential contenders — including former justice court judge candidate Cheikh Taylor and former circuit clerk candidate E. Regina Evans — asked supervisors not to consider them for the interim job.
Only District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard opposed McGinnis’ appointment, saying he would support a motion placing Deputy Criminal Clerk Melody Monts into the interim position.
McGinnis became an option for the job after she shared her willingness to return to work and said she would not seek office on a permanent basis.
Keeping a level playing field for potential candidates was a key reason District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery said he supported her appointment as he didn’t want to give any candidate “a leg up or a leg down.”
“That was the proverbial no-brainer,” said District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer, who first recommended Taylor for the position before learning of his desire not to serve in the interim role, of McGinnis’ appointment. “Angie is very capable, and I hope she can help guide us through the transitional period. You get a lot of calls wanting you to do this or that, but at the end of the day you can only put one person into that office. The people are going to have their say in November.”
Both Monts and Deputy Elections Clerk Sheryl Elmore confirmed to The Dispatch last week they will consider running for the vacancy created last week after former Circuit Clerk Glenn Hamilton pleaded guilty to felony methamphetamine possession in Clay County and resigned.
Starkville Municipal Court Administrator Tony Rook also confirmed last week he will run for the position.
Supes adjust salaries
Supervisors also voted to set Road Manager Hal Baggett’s annual salary at $80,000 and gave County Administrator Emily Garrard a $1,000-per-month raise for assisting the road department in the future.
District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer originally suggested the county set Baggett’s salary at almost $85,000, but District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery and District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller questioned why the county should pay him so much when former Road Manager Victor Collins only made $76,000.
A previous Mississippi State University salary study set the high end for a road department manager’s pay at about $80,600.
Garrard originally sought a $2,000-per-month raise, and the county administrator balked at the idea of taking only a $5,000 annual increase when the board first discussed how to use the difference between what Trainer wanted to give Baggett and where the county eventually landed.
Also complicating Garrard’s pay issue was an opinion from Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood’s office, which stated the county could not go back and compensate Garrard for her work as interim road manager and stated any future pay raise must be given for the work completed by the position.
“We’ve hired an individual with road manager experience … (and) with an engineering degree, so I really don’t think ($85,000) is nowhere out of line for a person with those credentials,” Howard said. “I don’t see a big deal in giving the $85,000 and $2,000 per month. She’s been interim road manager for about four months and hasn’t been compensated in any way.”
Garrard’s annual salary was not immediately available Monday, but supervisors estimated she earns about $100,000 per year.
Her raise is contingent upon her continuing to assist the road department as and after Baggett transitions into his new role, but the board did not outline those tasks and duties when it approved her increase.
“The sad part about it all is (Garrard’s increase) shouldn’t have taken this long,” Trainer said.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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