UPDATE (September 29th):
Hamilton County District 8 Commissioner Tim Boyd introduced a resolution to cut funding from District Attorney Pinkston's office until he appears before the Commission to answer questions about putting his wife, Melydia Clewell, and her brother, Kerry Clewell, on the county payroll.
"The commission has no subpoena authority, but we do have the authority of the pocketbook," Commissioner Boyd said Wednesday. "The only recourse this commission has is to suspend the previously portioned funding until the district attorney either appears before us with answers for his action or remove his relatives for being paid with county funds. It’s pretty simple it’s pretty focused."
Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the resolution at next Wednesday's meeting.
Read the full resolution below:
Watch the discussion of the Pinkston resolution at Wednesday's meeting below.
Depend on us to keep you posted.
EARLIER:
The Hamilton County Commission is considering withholding funding from Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston's office unless he appears before the commission.
Commissioner Tim Boyd introduced the document to commission Wednesday morning during the commission's regular meeting.
This request comes after the commission asked Pinkston to appear before the commission several times to answer questions about putting his wife, Melydia Clewell, and her brother, Kerry Clewell, on the county payroll.
Pinkston has declined to appear before the commission so far.
The condition is that department funding be suspended if Pinkston does not appear before the commission by October 1st, or removes his wife from the payroll.
"This document is for the commission to consider suspending funding for his department until he either removes her from being paid with county funds, or he comes before the commission to answer the questions concerning this," said Boyd.
Boyd said that this is a specific issue regarding the budget hearings.
"We passed a budget with the intention that no county funds would be used to pay for the salaries of his employees ," said Boyd. "Less than two months after the fiscal year budget went into effect, his office requested that his wife's salary be transferred to be paid by county funds. That's not what the intention of this commission was when we passed the budget."
Chairwoman Sabrena Smedly was assured by the county attorney, Rheubin Taylor, that his step would be legal moving forward. While the commission does not have subpoena power, they do have purse power.
Boyd provided an email to commissioners showing Pinkston transferred his wife from the state to the county payroll last month.
Depend on us to keep you posted.
Read Commissioner Tim Boyd's presentation on D.A. Pinkston below: