BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Bradford County Commissioners approved a contract with Scott Kornegay to become county manager after some discussion about time off.
As part of the contract negotiated between Kornegay and county attorney Will Sexton, the new manager requested 120 hours of time off in his first year. Kornegay explained he had planned a Norwegian cruise with his wife next summer as well as several hunting trips prior to agreeing to accept the job. The money invested was nonrefundable.
Commissioner Carolyn Spooner objected to awarding time off upfront when other county employees are expected to accumulate time off through working. The clause allows the manager to begin taking time off immediately. In addition to the advanced leave time, he would also be accruing additional leave time.
“My issue with it is this is unprecedented. We don’t do this with any employee,” Spooner said. “If we do this, it sends the wrong message to all of our employees.”
Spooner said she didn’t want to start this new era off with a policy violation.
Other commissioners were willing to allow it, pointing out that this was an executive position and resulted from the negotiating process. Sexton was not present to speak about the process, but those who spoke with him reported he felt it was a reasonable request. They also empathized that the trips were already planned.
Spooner said she felt Kornegay should be allowed the time off, and the timing of the cruise would allow him to accrue almost all of the leave time needed without this additional award.
The vote to approve the was 3-1, with Spooner dissenting and Commissioner Kenny Thompson absent.
The contract provides a $110,000 salary. Kornegay indicated he negotiated a lower overall compensation package for himself by requesting an additional $10,000 in salary but rejecting the county’s insurance plan.
The contract appeared as a consent agenda item — a grouping of items that are approved with a single vote, typically without discussion. The contract was only discussed at Spooner’s request.
Citizen Colson Douglas said the contract vote shouldn’t have happened at all. He said the agenda only appeared online a day before the meeting, and when he went to the courthouse to obtain a copy of the contract, no one knew what he was talking about. He walked away empty-handed.
“It’s ridiculous. Everything around here seems to be a circus. Nothing is ever done right around here,” he said, calling out the budget, redistricting and more. “I keep coming back and coming back, and it just falls on deaf ears. And I don’t know if you’re looking around, but attendance is pretty low. And I watch other local governmental meetings and people come. I think people come to other counties’ meetings because they’re heard and they’re listened to, which is not something that we get here.”
