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.

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