The Pike County Commission on Monday denied EMA Director Jeanna Barnes’ request to hire a fulltime operations support specialist, a position that the commission had approved in the 2011 budget.

Commissioners Robin Sullivan and Jimmy Barron voted in favor of the hire. Commission Chair Homer Wright and Commissioners Ray Goodson, Charlie Harris and Orin Fannin voted against the fulltime position.

Wright said that the commission was “put on the spot” to hire a full time operations support specialist.

“We need to ride this one more time to see how our finances are,” Wright said.

Harris said the hiring of a fulltime employee would require that the position be advertised.

The commission voted to extend the hire of the part time operations support specialist.

Also on Monday, the commission approved a request by Russell Oliver, county engineer, to surplus a lowboy that was worn out beyond repair.

Oliver also included in his report that the county’s fuel management system is dilapidated and that the Teck-21 system is no longer manufactured and neither are the parts to repair the system when it breaks down. “My fear is that the next time the system breaks down, we won’t be able to get parts to repair it,” Oliver said.

The Teck-21 system provides fuel for the county vehicles. If it breaks down and cannot be repaired, Oliver said the fuel will have to be bought retail.

No action was taken on Oliver’s request hire a part time mechanic to help in the shop.

“We have been short in the shop for two years as a result of the reduction in the workforce,” Oliver said. “Two and a half years ago, we had 36 employees now we have 28 but we still have the same number of roads and bridges.”

The commission approved Fannin’s motion to clarify the wording in the county’s personnel handbook to read that an employee who works a 10-hour, four-day workweek will be charged with a 10-hour holiday, not with an eight-hour holiday day.