The Laurel County Fiscal Court, Thursday, appointed Abby Hale as Laurel County Emergency Management and Public Safety Director.
According to Judge Executive Lawrence Kuhl, salary for the part-time position, consisting of 99 hours per month, was set at $22,500, of which F.E.M.A. will reimburse the county $7,500.
In related action, Brad Smith was appointed Coordinator for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, or C-SEPP. Judge Kuhl said the salary for the part-time position, consisting of 20 hours per week, was set at $30,000. The C-SEPP program will provide funding for the position.
Hale and Smith replace Brian Reams who held the positions until he was fired by the fiscal court following the release of an audit that revealed numerous material weaknesses, which prompted a federal investigation that is still ongoing. Reams was indicted, in May, by a Laurel County grand jury and charged with abuse of public trust for allegedly buying a gun for his personal use with public funds.