Outgoing Walker County Commission Chairman Shannon Whitfield admits he uses a shredder daily at his office, but that citizens should dismiss any rumors of rampant document destruction as old news.
The question came up at Thursday night’s commission meeting, with Ned Yates asking each commissioner specifically to address allegations that some county documents are being destroyed, as a new commission chair-elect waits in the wings.
Each commissioner denied any knowledge of documents being destroyed, but Chairman Shannon Whitfield admitted he has been shredding some documents for nearly three years.
Whitfield assured the community that there nothing is inappropriate with the practice and that his successor will have far more information available than he did when coming into office in January of 2017.
Whitfield says the previous administration of Bebe Heiskell spent their final weeks in office shredding many documents, and that county computers were “wiped clean”.
Whitfield says he began the practice of shredding paper drafts when he discovered a custodian rifling through his trash.
The incident came to light during a joint effort with minority leaders, in confronting a citizen who often used racial slurs during county meetings.
Whitfield says since the incident, he shares public documents with commissioners via a cloud, and that paper versions of working drafts are often disposed of and shredded.
In county business, commissioners are working to ready the 2025 fiscal budget with a five year tax digest that should be viewable next week.
Chairman Whitfield gave a preview of the proposed 34,682,000 budget, which is a 4.2% raise from FY 2024, equating to roughly 1.5 million dollars more than the previous year. Whitfield says the increase is mainly payroll driven, with a proposed 4% pay increase for county employees.
Whitfield says the commission will not be holding a millage hearing because of a zero property increase from commissioners, despite a proposed 7% budget hike from the Walker County School Board.
Whitfield also explained the status of the Walker County Police Chief Hal Gray amid questions of a recent 2,500 accreditation trip.
According to Whitfield, Walker County is keeping it’s county police force active but requires a placeholder as Police Chief.
Whitfield says Gray served as a code officer predominantly but serves as Chief in order to keep the downgraded department within the law.
Board of Commissioners Meeting from 8-8-24
Livestream of the Walker County Board of Commissioners Meeting from August 8, 2024.
