Morgan Township trustees approve short-term consultant to assist fiscal officer

The Morgan Township Special Trustee Meeting voted Aug. 30 to hire Tina Cox as an independent contractor to assist fiscal officer Emily Esselbrock.

"I'll make a motion to hire, miss Tina Cox as an independent contractor, as a consultant to our fiscal officer for, 100 hours at $50 an hour to help train and get Emily up to speed with in her new role," said the chair, who made the motion. The engagement was proposed to start Aug. 31 and would cover up to 100 hours at $50 per hour, a total not to exceed $5,000.

Trustees moved and seconded the hiring motion and recorded an affirmative vote by the trustees present; the motion passed. The board did not specify the secondary mover by name in the transcript. The hiring followed a brief executive-session discussion about the fiscal officer's request for a temporary assistant and related compensation.

The hiring was described in the motion as an independent-contractor arrangement rather than an employee appointment. A trustee asked for confirmation, "As an independent contractor?" and the chair replied, "Yep." The transcript does not record a detailed breakdown of funding sources or whether the engagement will draw from an existing line item in the township budget.

The meeting adjourned at 1:52 p.m.