TRAVELERS REST WANTS TO TEST EMPLOYEES FOR DRUGS, ALCOHOL

TRAVELERS REST - It's been two years since Travelers Rest enforced
its random drug testing law for city employees.

But City Council members now want that to be done on a regular basis.

They also have asked Travelers Rest City Administrator Cliff Gaddy to
draft an amendment to the ordinance so it includes alcohol and
targets appropriate employees.

The ordinance, as it is now, focuses primarily on firefighters and
police officers in the Public Safety Department. Travelers Rest
Police Chief Tim Christy suggested it be expanded to include
emergency dispatchers and all employees who operate a vehicle.

Mayor Pro Tem Roy Reynolds brought the issue before members of the
City Council's Personnel Committee because he said he has received
calls from people wanting to know whether the testing is being done.

"I didn't know," he said. "That's why I brought it up for discussion."

Reynolds said the city's ordinance requires that the testing be done
at least annually.

Gaddy said the city has only been doing pre-employment drug testing
and hasn't done any random testing in two years "because we have not
been suspicious of our personnel."

"Since the ordinance says employees 'will' receive random drug
testing and not 'may,' I really think it's important that we make
sure every person has one every year," Councilman Fred Maxwell said.

"If someone were here say 14 months and in 14 months an accident were
to happen and they were be found to be under the influence of some
substance and we've not done what we said we were going to, I think
we'd be negligent," he said.

Reynolds said that also has been his concern. "If something did
happen, I don't want anybody to come back to council and say, 'Well,
did you not have drug-alcohol testing,'" he said.

Gaddy said he checked with other municipalities and learned that
although many have ordinances similar to the one in Travelers Rest,
only one is actually conducting random drug testing.

City Clerk Gail Braziel said employees receive a copy of the
ordinance and are required to sign a form stating they understand it.
The employees keep a copy of the form, and one is placed in their
personnel file.