Newly elected Ross County Commissioner James "Oody" Lowe served in his first meeting January 4th.
The former law enforcement officer for the City of Chillicothe and Ross County Sheriff was asked about the request from the sheriff about higher pay for deputies and detectives in order to keep them from leaving for higher paying jobs.
Lowe said he agreed that the sheriff's staff is underpaid, but says the commissioners will have to look at what the county budget can handle.
Lowe says he along with the other commissioners are concerned about the public's needs, but added the public needs to understand what the county commissioners can and can't control.
Commissioners control the county budget, but not policy for each elected office.
Lowe became the first African-American elected to the Ross County Commissioners, after spending three decades in law enforcement and 18 years as an Adena Local School Board member.
Listen to our full-length iHeart Media Communique interview with Commissioner James Lowe in our podcast link below...