Appointed deputy clerk of courts
Donna Shaffer fills job held by JoAnn Smith

Donna Shaffer has been appointed to fill the position of deputy clerk of courts in Cameron County. She succeeds JoAnn Smith, who resigned from that position to prepare for her new role as a member of the Cameron County Board of Commissioners in January.

Shaffer's pay of $7.50 per hour was approved by the county's salary board on Monday. Board members rejected a request from Clerk of Courts Mary Grace Olay to set the pay at $9.00, citing the need to be consistent with other county employees who have started at between $7.00 and $7.50.

Shaffer is a graduate of Cameron County Area High School and has worked at Citizens Trust Company and the Cameron County Assessment Office. She left the workforce several years ago to raise a family but has decided to return now that her children are all school-aged. She began training as deputy clerk on Tuesday.

In a separate issue, salary board tabled a motion to appoint Brenda Munz, currently the commissioners' secretary, as chief clerk. Pat Rodgers supported the move, but the other salary board members, Glen Fiebig, Tony Moscato and Staci Brown, said they believed that decision should be left up to the incoming board of commissioners.

Fiebig, JoAnn Smith and Phil Jones take office for a four-year term on Jan. 7.