Shelby County Clerk – “Misuse of County Property Is Grounds For Termination”

Shelby Co. (ECWd) –

We published this article that detailed the private use of the public property by the Shelby County AFSCME union president.

Shelby County Clerk Jessica Fox became aware of the misuse of county property after receiving our freedom of information request and receiving responses from the office employees.

 “I  was not aware of computer use for union activities/speeches.  After learning this had happened, I addressed the issue with all staff members, instituted a policy, and am very adamant and vocal that misuse of County property is grounds for termination.   In light of this incident, I will be even more vocal and vigilant to make certain any County Clerk/Recorder employee is not using the county equipment for any manner other than their assigned office duties.  Each employee has their own username and password, for computer security reasons, this information is not shared amongst staff. “

“I feel the issue has been handled due to Lisa submitting her resignation, which will impact this office greatly.  Current County Clerk/Recorder staff is very aware of the seriousness of this issue and any new hire or hires, will be required to sign the policy for computer use.”

Fox’s words and actions in this matter are clear indicators that private use of public property is wrong.  If things like this can be fixed in Shelby County then we are confident they will be the ones paving the way for the rest of the state as this is not an isolated problem.

We are awaiting additional information regarding selective website viewing with county resources as covered in this article.  We hope to be able to actually put names to the IP addresses for those live streaming during work hours.  Currently, they are not being released due to an ongoing investigation.