Chairman Mark Culver Refuses To Allow Rickey Stokes To Address County Commissioners

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Posted by: RStokes
Date: Nov 18 2021 7:06 PM

HOUSTON COUNTY:    For some reason when these people get elected to office they feel they are some sort of royalty. That the people are suppose to line up and kiss their buttocks. When in fact they are only elected public SERVANTS.

Today as the Houston Couty Commission Administrative Meeting was adjourning Rickey Stokes spoke up about something to address the commission about. Chairman Culver asked if anything else and stated they had no privileges of the floor. And no, I had not signed a privilege of the floor form for the royalty supreme Houston County Commissioners to decide if a citizen was worthy in addressing the royalty.

Chairman Culver asked was there anything else.

Chairman Culver came up to me after the meeting and asked what was it. I informed him that I wanted them to re-adress the pay raise for the Houston County Sheriff. The last meeting the commission voted to ask the legislative delegation to bring the salary of the Sheriff to $ 120,000.00 for the next term of office.

Rickey Stokes, NOT DONALD VALENZA, has asked the commission to being the salary for the Sheriff to the same as that of the Dothan Police Chief, which started at $ 130,000.00. 

It was mentioned last meeting that the City of Dothan Commission probably considered the experience of the Dothan Police Chief. And I was going today, really? Dothan Police Chief Will Benny is doing a great job. He has experience. But also Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza has been with the Houston County Sheriff Department since 1979.

The Chief of Police salary is set by the Dothan Commission. The salary of the Sheriff has to be set by legislation passed by the Alabama Legislature. And the salary is set when he takes office and no raises are given, except cost of living, during the Sheriff tenure.

Chairman Culver said he was not in favor of going to $ 130,000.00

But my response was, sorry, I am not really concerned with your opinion. The Chairman can not make a motion and can not vote unless there is tie. What I am concerned with is the opinion of the four voting members of the Houston County Commission, which are as follows: (1) Commissioner Curtis Harvey (2) Commissioner Doug Sinquefield (3) Commissioner Ricky Herring and (4) Commissioner Brandon Shoupe.

Commissioner Shoupe left before I caught him. Caught Commissioners Curtis Harvey, Commissioner Doug Sinquefield and Commissioner Ricky Herring.

Herring being a Deputy Sheriff employed at will be the Sheriff, he will have to abstain. A Deputy Sheriff could be terminated because the Sheriff did not like the way Deputy Herring combs his hair!

Sorry, the Sheriff will not receive a raise during his four year term. My personal beleif is the Sheriff is worthy of the same salary as the Chief of Police of Dothan. The Sheriff has 582 square miles in Houston County which includes the City of Dothan.

The City of Dothan is in Houston County, not Houston County in the City of Dothan. While Dothan Police Chief has a awesome responsibility, so does the Sheriff. The Sheriff has a county jail with a daily population of over 330 persons.

The salaries should be the same.

If the Commissioners do not UNANIMOUSLY add this to the agenda for Monday, those being Commissioners Harvey, Sinquefield, Herring and Shoupe, then that is a statement of them saying they do not beleive the Sheriff of Houston County is a equal to the Dothan Police Chief in responsibility.

So let their lack of action and silence be an indication of their lack of support for the citizens of Houston County.

While I do respect the Chairman of the County Commission, the Chairman can not make a motion or vote unless a tie. So his stand is really immaterial unless he gets to vote.

If the commissioners ignore, VOTE NO ON ALL INCUMBENTS for election or re-election. Run as a independent candidate for Chairman of the Houston County Commission.

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