Bell : Nepotism Policy Enacted

The City Council has approved a nepotism policy that will require prospective job applicants to disclose whether they are related to current employees.

Although there is not a “real horrible problem right now” with having city employees who are related, the council wanted the policy in force to “avoid problems in the future,” Mayor George Cole said.

Councilman Ray Johnson said he proposed the policy because he felt “it was something we do need to address. If we have two people who are related working together, it can create problems. We want to avoid that.”

Under the policy, “relative” refers to either a spouse, sibling, parent, child or a similar relationship by marriage, and includes council members. Cole said the policy may be slightly changed once the city hires a personnel officer.