Breeden sworn in, Young appointed chairman
The first commission meeting of December after an election usually comes with a change in leadership, and such was the case for the Macon County Commission at its Dec. 2 organizational meeting.
The board said goodbye to Commissioner Paul Higdon who had served three terms — more than a decade — and welcomed his replacement, incoming member Barry Breeden.
“We want to say thank you Mr. Higdon for all your work, this is not easy work,” said Commissioner Gary Shields. “He’s been a mentor; we’ve known each other a long time.”
Higdon has been a conservative stalwart on the board since his election in 2012 and remained true to form on his way out the door.
When asked if he’d like to say any words prior to being presented with a commemorative plaque, Higdon simply said, “no.”
“That’s my favorite word; my legacy,” he joked. “Thank you, it’s been an honor to serve the people of Macon County. I’ve tried to do it as conservatively as I know how. One of my two favorite sayings is, the government’s got enough of our tax money, they just need to know how to spend it. And conservatism’s like pregnancy, you are or you ain’t. And I’ve tried to be a conservative, and I’ll be that when they lay me in the ground.”
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Commissioner John Shearl promised to “continue to fight for conservatism” as long as he’s on the board.
“It’s been a lot of years with you, we go back a long ways, and I appreciate your conservatism,” said Shearl. “What you stand for, your Christian values, your family, and what you’ve tried to do and what you have done for this county.”
“I appreciate the leadership that you’ve shown me, your transparency, the way that you just are what you are, and you have nothing to hide,” said Commissioner Josh Young. “That’s a hard person to be in today’s times. So, I just want to say thanks for that, and I know it’s not always favored or always the most desired, but I do appreciate it and I do appreciate your passion. Have fun with your grandkids, man.”
During the Primary Election in March, Barry Breeden beat Paul Higdon to represent District 3. Breeden then ran unopposed in the General Election.
After Breeden was sworn in and seated, the board had to elect a new chairman. In Macon County, it is custom for the board to elect a new chairman each year with Gary Shields serving as chairman over the last year, and Paul Higdon having served the year prior.
Commissioner Danny Antoine made a motion to nominate Young for chairman and Shields seconded the motion. The board approved Young’s nomination unanimously, but not before Shearl had voiced input on responsibilities of the chairman as well as the organization and efficiency of the commission.
“The reason why I bring this up, we’ve had many discussions about the length of our meetings and stuff and one of the biggest things with the chairman of the board is being completely responsible and intact with the agenda,” said Shearl. “I hope moving forward that our new chairman will take this role very seriously and spend a lot of time dealing with this. Because when the agenda comes out, in the past, the agenda comes out and the chairman of the board has no idea what’s on that agenda until it’s presented, and that’s the role of the chairman is to create this agenda and keep this board informed, and maybe through that process the meetings will be expedited and not six hours long.”
Young said he agreed with Shearl.
“Thank you for the trust, gentlemen,” said Young. “A chairman, what I want to see is a high level of service provided to our citizens. Not saying that’s not happening right now, but I want to enhance that.”
Commissioner Shields was then unanimously appointed vice chair of the commission.
Following the vote, Commissioner Shearl suggested that the commission have county employee business meetings in the morning, prior to regular meetings in the evening, to prevent county employees from having to stay at county meetings until late at night.
“They can have their normal workday and go home with their family and everything else, and it would also save the taxpayers a lot of money from overtime, comp time and everything,” said Shearl. “I would like to see some kind of adjustments to this in the future for a meeting the morning of our regular county commission meeting.”
Young noted that this has been discussed and could be especially needed during the budget season, but he suggested that the board continue on in its current manner for at least the first quarter of the year before making a change to meeting organization.
