The latest

debate between the Coweta County Board of Commissioners

and Superior Court clerk Joan Griffies can probably be

scored a win for the commissioners.

Griffies

recently asked the commissioners to add a stipend to her

salary because she also handles the jury selection

process for the State Court.

The clerk

said that State Court Judge Herbert Cranford agreed with

her and said she was helping out his office a great deal.

County

administrator Theron Gay agreed with Griffies' assessment

and said he asked Cranford what he thought a suitable

stipend would be for the clerk.

Cranford

said he thought $200 a quarter would be a fair amount,

which brought a look of shock to the clerk's face.

"Two

hundred dollars a quarter is not a lot. The bottom line

is I do a lot, but nobody can pay me what I think I'm

worth," she said.

Griffies

told the commissioners about all the effort that went

into jury management, including stamping and addressing

the envelopes.

The

commissioners heard Griffies' concern and directed that

the issue be studied further.

Tuesday

night, county administrator Theron Gay said that he had

discussed the issue with Cranford and Griffies and

Cranford recommended a maximum of $300 a quarter.

Griffies

said that she and her staff worked about 120 hours a year

on the project.

She added

that she has to deal with about 1,500 jurors a year, but

added she has not done a cost analysis or comparison with

other counties to see what sort of stipend is paid to

other clerks.

But in the

end, the county agreed to a $200 quarterly stipend and

also asked that a study be done on the clerk's salary

structure.