The Hinesville City Council held a called meeting Wednesday to appoint five members to its Grievance and Appeals Committee.
“Unfortunately, I allowed the terms of the previous holders of that committee to expire without realizing it,” City Manager Billy Edwards said, explaining the need to appoint the committee in a called meeting.
The committee’s role is to hear and rule on employee appeals on disciplinary action and termination, he said. The committee last was used in 2007.
Now, the city is facing another termination appeal, and the committee will be called to hear the case in the near future, Edwards said. The hearing has not yet been scheduled.
“Once they do, we will sit down with that committee, give them an orientation and ask them to call that hearing as soon as they possibly can,” Edwards said.
Each councilman appointed someone to the board. Mayor Pro Tem Charles Frasier of District 1 appointed Kenneth Pangburn. District 3 Councilman David Anderson Sr. appointed Beverly L. Pitts, and District 4 Councilman Keith Jenkins appointed Eric Waters.
Councilmen Jason Floyd of District 2 and Kenneth Shaw of District 5 were not present at the meeting, but Edwards read their appointments. Floyd appointed Justin V. McCartney, and Shaw appointed Michael Moody.
When the committee initially was formed, its terms were supposed to be staggered to provide some stability, according to Mayor Jim Thomas. The staggering plan calls for one member to serve a single-year term, two members to serve two-year terms, and two members to serve three-year terms.
After consulting City Attorney Linnie Darden about whether the member terms had to be decided upon appointment or whether they could be determined at a later date, Thomas declared that the terms would be taken up later.
The next scheduled city council meeting is 3 p.m. Jan. 5.