Being municipal judge didn’t last very long for McComb’s most recent appointee.
Mayor Quordiniah Lockley told selectmen at the Oct. 2 work session that Michael Shareef had resigned the position he was appointed to in August.
He said he would recommend that the city appoint Brandon Frazier, the longtime judge pro tempore, to the seat.
“I’ve talked with him, and he said he would love to be the judge,” Lockley said.
He added that appointing Frazier would save money because he would also continue to serve as judge for the city’s environmental court.
Even after boosting the salary by $5,000 to $30,000, as requested by Frazier, Lockley said the city would save because the city could drop an insurance policy it purchased for Frazier in his pro tem role, and would not pay the pro tem salary for the environmental court to Frazier in addition to the regular salary.
Frazier is paid $700 per month, or $8,400 per year, to serve as pro tem. The insurance premium was $5,781.
“That was all he asked for to be pro tem,” Lockley said.
Lockley said Frazier would be part of the city’s regular insurance package as municipal judge.
Selectman Devante Johnson complained that Shareef had asked for $25,000 and was not “told we could afford $30,000.”
Lockley said Shareef had withdrawn because his regular job conflicted with the judgeship.
He said the regular salary for the judgeship was $25,000, but former judge Danny Smith had requested his salary be lowered because it affected his retirement benefits. Smith was paid a little less than $22,000.
In other business, the board:
• Heard Lockley plead for more deliberation about issues before the board.
“It is my observation that we are rushing to get through things,” he said. “We need to slow down and make sure we understand what we’re doing. We’re trying to move too fast, as we’re making mistakes. We need to set priorities.”
• Considered final amendments for the 2017-18 budget.
• Heard a presentation from the Pike County Fuller Center for Housing, formerly Habitat for Humanity.
• Received a payment estimate of $13,093 on the Railroad Boulevard improvement project from Neel-Schaffer engineering firm.
• Noted donations to the animal shelter of $1,810, as well as pet beds and animal meals worth almost $22,000.
• Noted reimbursements to the police department of $1,566.
• Learned the Walk for Diabetes will be held Oct. 27 at 9:30 a.m.
