Butler Council information is updated a of 5/12/22.
Local elections are the biggest portion of the ballot this year. While the attendance and pay rates of state and federal legislators are readily available, the attendance and pay of our local legislators are not as easy to track.
With that in mind, The Falmouth Outlook did some digging to find out how much our elected magistrates, council members, and school board members are paid--a matter of open record since their pay is funded by local taxes--and how well they attend meetings. We also asked the current elected officials for any comments they may have regarding any absences they have incurred during their last tenures as elected officials.
The judge/executive and the mayors were not included in this survey as their roles are different, requiring attendance not only at meetings beyond the regular meetings, but also attendance at other functions across the cities, the county, and the state.
Pendleton County Fiscal Court
Magistrates Alan Whaley, Josh Plummer, Darrin Gregg, and Rick Mineer are paid $10,293 per year which equals out to almost $200 per meeting if they meet only in regular session and in caucuses. They also have an expense allowance of $300 monthly. Their positions require one meeting per week. Two of those meetings are caucuses where no voting takes place, but the concerns of the county are discussed. The topics include, but are not limited to, county budget, road conditions, property conditions and concerns, county utilities and equipment, and economic development.
Whaley states that he has missed six of 79 meetings, and those absences were for illness, family obligations, other magistrate duties, and, at times, work situations that keep him from attending meetings or bring him in late. Plummer, who has missed nine of 79, replied similarly. Gregg has missed one of the 79. He could not recall the reason, but he stated, as the others stated, he also works outside the meeting times, attending to county business. Mineer, who has missed six of the 79 meetings, says he missed only for illness, vacation, and the birth of his grandchild.
Fiscal court members are visible across the community, working within the community and volunteering their time in community activities. One icy day last winter, most were on the scene the day of the maintenance truck accident, assessing the damage and making sure the driver was not injured. They have personally checked out county buildings and their respective district’s road conditions, and they advocate for the utilities and services their districts and the county overall is lacking.
Pendleton County School Board
Board members Cheri Griffin, Karen Delaney, Kevin Barnard, Amber Beebe, and Laura Schack. In the past four years, the board has had 55 meetings. Generally, they meet once per month and then during special called meetings. They also each serve on various committees relating to the school district; for example, two board members recently served on the committee to decide the new salary schedule. They worked seven months on this committee. They also serve on committees that make decisions regarding building renovations in the school district, curricular matters, and other committees regarding school functions.
Of this group, Barnard and Schack are up for reelection this year. Barnard has attended all 55 meetings, and Schack has missed one due to illness. Beebe and Griffin have attended 54 of the 55, and Delaney has attended all 55 meetings.
Board members are paid $150 per meeting, plus any expenses incurred. They are limited to $6,000 per year regardless of the number of meetings they attend.
Falmouth City Council
Falmouth City Council receives $5,000 annually which divides into $416.67 per month.
Council members hear reports from city workers such as maintenance, the police and fire departments, water and sewage, and city hall itself during the first Tuesday of each month and then hold regular (voting) meeting the third Tuesday of the month. At times, special meetings are called on days other than meeting days.
Most council members volunteer to serve on committees and can be seen serving the community by preparing for holidays, working with the fire department, serving on other committees and boards on the community, and by performing many activities to help bring positivity to the city.
Council members are Amy Hurst, Craig Owen, Darryl Ammerman, Joyce Carson, Sebastian Ernst, and Luke Price.
Of 38 meetings, Hurst has missed four meetings since her reinstallation in 2020--two caucuses and two regular meetings. In her time on council (six years), that is all she has missed. Those absences came about due to the death of her father, an accident that landed her in the emergency room, and other family concerns.
Owen has missed two of the 38 meetings, one special and one regular. Owen did not email regarding his absences.
Ammerman has missed one meeting out of 38 and arrived a few minutes late for another. He explained that work-related concerns were the cause of both. His store closes at six, and he is responsible for the closing.
Carson has missed one special/caucus and one regular meeting of 38 meetings. She was at a convention for council operations during one of those meetings, and she was on vacation for another.
Ernst has missed 11 of the 38 meetings of city council. He did not respond to e-mails regarding his absences.
UPDATE: Councilperson Ernst responded on Thursday, May 12, via Facebook Messenger:
Sorry for not getting back to you in time. Any time I’ve missed a meeting is because I’m working late or attending a family engagement. I’m a father with a young family and they will always come first in my life.
When I become Mayor I’ll make sure the meetings we do have will be filled with content actually worth discussing. We have a lot of work to do.
Price has missed three meetings of the 38. He proudly admits he has missed meetings because of family obligations. “Family first” is his motto.
Butler City Council
While Butler City Council’s individual attendance and new pay structure were not available by press time, reporter Brenda Higgins says that all are regular attendees, and all work within the city to make it a positive place.
UPDATE: Butler
The Falmouth Outlook's Butler reporter Brenda Higgins gathered Butler's information Thursday morning and shared the following.
Statistics for January through December 2021 are as follows.
Each Butler city councilperson is paid $100 per year. The pay will be doubled the first of the year.
Council meet once per month with special called meetings being added to the schedule as needed. Two of these happened in 2021--May and September--meaning that members met 14 times through the year.
Records indicate the following:
Pat Taylor--1 absence
P. Taylor's response: I take being a council member very important. I have been present at city meetings which were monthly. I think the meeting I missed was a special called meeting. I had already planned to attending my sister’s birthday celebration before the special meeting was called. All meetings are important, but sometimes you also have to be there for family and at that time I felt it was important to be there for my family. Missing one meeting all year doesn’t seem to be a problem. If I missed numerous meetings then I would feel I hadn’t met my obligations. However, I feel I have met my obligations to the city and have represented them well.
Paul Vanlandingham-2 absences; one of those was a special-called meeting
Terri Bush--3 absences including one special
Teresa Antrobus--4 absences including both special meetings
Mason Taylor--5 absences including one special meeting.
Taylor's response: Most of my absences have been due to my job which I’m a career Firefighter/EMT. Meaning, I work a different schedule than a 9a-5p. My shift rotations I work 24hr shifts not including if I’m forced for overtime. I’m also attending college to become a Paramedic so I’ve had to devote time to school related activities. But even with absences I’ve still been kept informed of all major decisions related to city and still keep the interests of my constituents at heart.
Alice Smith--5 absences including both special
The Outlook will be contacting these members for comments. Those will be shared in another update.