The dispute between Sheriff Roy Fikes and Perry County Commission Chairman Albert Turner over who controls staffing and other operations in the sheriff’s office is now set for a final hearing next week. Circuit Judge Marvin W. Wiggins has scheduled the case for Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 9:00 a.m. in the upstairs courtroom of the Perry County Courthouse in Marion.
Ahead of that setting, both sides added new filings. On Oct. 26, Sheriff Fikes asked the court to deny the commission’s request to “preserve the status quo” on personnel classifications, arguing the questions raised are legal issues that must be decided by a final judgment and noting that Attorney General opinions cited by the county are advisory and not binding.
The sheriff also moved the court to require the county to file an answer and to enter a scheduling order, saying more than 30 days had passed since service.
In a separate motion the same day, he asked the court to strike the county’s earlier “motion to enforce” as an improper pleading under the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure.
The county’s “motion to enforce,” filed Oct. 21, leans on long-standing state statutes that give county commissions control over county property and courthouse space, asserting those laws “clearly establish the rights and duties of the parties” with respect to the courthouse and related facilities.
The case centers on whether various workers assigned to the sheriff’s office, beyond deputies and jailers, are county employees subject to commission policy or at-will employees serving the sheriff. The judge is expected to take up those issues at the Nov. 5 final hearing.
