A motion to approve funding for a new employee in the Finance Department caused some discussion during Monday evening’s county commission meeting, as some commissioners were concerned about the lack of information about the qualifications needed for this job and whether it was truly needed.

The motion comes after commissioner Brad Johnson’s request came through September’s Budget Committee and Financial Management meetings earlier this month.

“There has always been a backlog in our purchases,” Johnson said.

When Commissioner Patty Woodby asked if the salary range requested was in line with other employees in that department, Finance Director Brad Burke said it was actually slightly lower than the average.

“Jefferson has about 12 employees,” Burke said. “We have six.”

Johnson said the requests needs to go through as quickly as possible, as they are falling behind during their busier times of the year without this extra employee.

“We have a lot of ongoing work being done by our Finance Department,” Johnson said. “The two we have do the majority of it.”

In the job requirements section, the salary range was between $30,000 and $40,000. When Ginger Holdren asked about educational requirements, Burke said it would necessitate a college degree plus experience.

“When I asked the same question in the Financial Management meeting, you said there was no minimum educational background required,” Holdren said.

Burke said they were still working on the finer points of the job description, which Holdren took issue with.

“We typically like to know all the details before we vote,” she said.

Other commissioners pointed out the lack of concrete information about the job itself.

“If you want me to vote on something, I am going to need all the details, and I would prefer it to not be handwritten in the margin,” Mike Hill said. “This is really terrible.”

The agenda item brought before the Budget Committee was handwritten when Budget voted to bring it to full commission.

Despite the objections raised, the motion passed 17-6. Those in favor included Willie Campbell, Nancy Brown, Patty Woodby, Brad Johnson, Ronnie Trivett, Isaiah Grindstaff, Jerry Proffitt, Ross Garland, Ginger Holdren, Layla Ward, Randal Jenkins, Travis Hill, Gary Bailey, Ray Lyons, Aaron Frazier, David Miller and Kelly Collins. Those against included Mark Blevins, Mike Hill, Charles Von Cannon, Austin Jaynes, Sonja Culler and Robin McKamey.

Robert Acuff was absent for the vote.