Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Emergency Manager for Eddy and Foster counties, Jess Earle, met with Eddy County Commissioners on Tuesday, March 5. Earle attended a Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meeting on Feb. 20.
Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, the LEPC must develop an emergency response plan, review the plan at least annually and provide information about chemicals in the community to citizens. Plans are developed by the LEPC, with stakeholder participation.
The LEPC membership must include at minimum elected state and local officials; police, fire, civil defense, and public health professionals; environment, transportation, and hospital officials; facility representatives; and representatives from community groups and the media.
Commissioner Glenda Collier and County Treasurer Patty Williams have agreed to participate in trainings for the LEPC.
Earle was hired on with Eddy County last spring, just before much of the county was struck by a windstorm on July 8, 2018. She is now preparing for potential future emergencies and natural disasters.
Right now she has her eyes toward the spring. “With all the snow, we’re looking at a higher probability of flood,” she said, but also cited that depending on the snow moisture content of our next few storms that could change either way.
Earle also advised the commission to appoint a public information official who will be responsible for communications with news media and general public for the county and affiliated agencies. Ideally this designated official will eliminate confusion and help implement an incident command structure and operate within a designated chain of command.
New Road Superintendent Todd Weber will begin work on March 11. The commissioners discussed office updates and initial setup of technology. The Eddy County Extension secretary position has also been filled, as Chandy Howard began her duties on Feb. 4. The “Transcript” will provide an introduction to these newcomers in a future edition.
The commission discussed the sick leave donation policy for full-time county employees. They ultimately decided to maintain current policy on the accrual of sick leave, stating that employees can accumulate unlimited sick time. Commissioners capped the capacity of a donation bank at 500 hours and stated that donors must leave 40 hours for themselves. As far as those requesting hours from the sick leave bank, their requests are limited to 480 hours, which would provide enough time to cover the 12 weeks determined by the Family Medical Leave Act. Those receiving sick leave from the donation bank will not accrue sick time.
The next meeting for the Eddy County Commission will be March 19 at 10 a.m.
