Finance manager meets Hamilton County Commission

Allen Branum, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department’s chief deputy, stopped by the County Commission meeting Thursday to introduce commissioners to the department’s new finance manager.

“We look forward to working with her,” Chief Branum said. “We wanted to let her put some faces with some of the names she’s going to be working with.”

Peggy Faircloth, who earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s in business administration from Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga., started as finance manager Monday, she said.

Ms. Faircloth said she would be helping the department put together its budget for the next fiscal year.

“The budget is our first challenge,” she said. “That’s the priority.”

Commissioner Larry Henry asked why the department chose to hire a finance manager now.

“We’re in a transitional period,” he said. “We’re only about a month from getting into the budget.”

Mr. Henry noted that a new sheriff will be elected in August, which likely will mean changes in the department.

Former Sheriff Billy Long, facing federal gun, drug, money laundering and extortion charges, resigned Feb. 6. Chief Branum has been in charge of the department since Mr. Long resigned.

Chief Branum said having someone whose chief focus is on the budget will “help tremendously,” though the budget as it is now is “in good shape.”

The department had been operating without a finance manager for several weeks. Its previous finance manager, Rick Bealer, was terminated after a probationary period.

“I believe we put him in over his head,” Chief Branum said of Mr. Bealer.

Chief Branum said he believed Ms. Faircloth’s background makes her suited for the job.

Ms. Faircloth was selected from five applicants for the position, according to sheriff’s department spokeswoman Janice Atkinson.

Also on Thursday, the commission gave preliminary approval to a tax break for Westinghouse Electric Co., which is planning an expansion at the former Metals USA building at Centre South Riverport off Amnicola Highway.

The company is planning to create more than 50 new jobs with an average salary of $85,000, according to Kurt Faires, an attorney representing Westinghouse.

County Mayor Claude Ramsey and commissioners expressed support for the expansion.

“There was a great deal of effort by the existing staff of Westinghouse to bring this expansion here,” Mr. Ramsey said. “These are good jobs. They’re good for the economy.”

On Wednesday, the commission will take a final vote on the tax break, which allows the company to make payments in lieu of taxes for the first several years of operation.

WHAT’S NEXT

Hamilton County budget hearings begin around the second week of May.