Commission upholds administrators’ authority

The Fayette County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on April 9 to deny a request by Commissioner Steve Brown for the full board to vote on all policy and procedure changes. The vote upholds the authority of County Administrator Steve Rapson and the heads of the human resources and finance departments to make decisions under their purview. Brown said his proposal was in the interest of accountability and transparency, but Commissioner Randy Ognio said the delegation of authority was meant to “make the process more efficient.” Rapson said notices of policy changes are already sent to commission members, and that any changes can always be reviewed by the board.