Published: May 23, 2006 11:02 pm            

Lawyer not allowed without support from second commissioner

Associate Commissioner Stanley Yarbrough is saying very little this week about a recent announcement that he is hiring his own attorney and charging the legal costs to the county.

Yarbrough, who made the announcement after an apparent disagreement with Chairman Wiley Kitchens, declined to comment to The Times last week and again on Tuesday.

Despite his silence, Kitchens and Associate Commissioner Doug Williams are giving a different version of the story.

According to Williams, the disagreement between the commissioners has been settled without the need of lawyer Steve Griffith, who Yarbrough claimed to have hired.

Griffith did not return calls seeking a comment.

In addition, Williams said he thought Yarbrough had backed away from claims that he would refuse to move his office to the first floor of the courthouse with the other commissioners. That move has been scheduled for sometime this summer.

Kitchens gave a similar account, saying he wasn't sure "what got him so mad."

"I don't know what happened, but I think it's all worked out now," Kitchens said.

Both Kitchens and Williams said Yarbrough cannot charge Griffith's services to the county without the support of at least one other commissioner.

That statement was backed by the Association of County Commissions of Alabama.

In a phone interview Monday, Executive Director Buddy Sharpless said, according to state law, Yarbrough could not make any financial commitment for the county without the approval of the commission.

He added that a local ordinance could allow it, but he doubted such a rule exists in Cullman County.

While Griffith was noticeably absent from Monday's regular commission meeting, Yarbrough's intentions in the matter remain unclear.

"I can tell you this right now, the county will not be paying for his lawyer," Kitchens told The Times after the meeting.

Yarbrough made his original statement to The Times last Wednesday. During the interview, he indicated at least some of the trouble started when Kitchens moved the county's Safety Department to the old Economic Development building outside the courthouse.

Prior to the move, Yarbrough shared an office space with the Safety Department, apparently making use of office employees and equipment.

He complained then, that Kitchens had not notified or consulted him before making the move. He called the move a waste of money, saying it meant he had to buy new office equipment and hire his own secretary.

"When he (Kitchens) makes a move like this without first telling the west side commissioner, he's really telling the west side that he doesn't recognize their representation," Yarbrough said at the time.

According to Yarbrough, he is just trying to make sure both sides of the county are treated fairly.

Other claims made during his original announcement include changing the locks on his office door to keep anyone from entering.

        

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