The Hamilton County Commission will soon vote on who will fill the position of county attorney after a meeting marked by cross talk showed divisions within the government over respect, process and the law.
Commissioners who were present during a Wednesday legal committee meeting on a proposal to shift from one attorney to another spoke over each other and clashed repeatedly over the appointment process. After about an hour, they decided to hold a formal vote naming a successor to County Attorney Rheubin Taylor and posting jobs in his office.
Taylor has worked as the county attorney since 1993, but his contract ends June 30, and a number of his staff will follow him out the Courthouse doors. In Wednesday’s meeting, he condemned a recent transition proposal that would see Janie Varnell replace him in the role.
The proposal, drafted by Commissioner Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, outlined how documents in the office should be preserved and how the county should find more staff to work in the office.