WARREN — Trumbull County commissioners voted down a motion to hire an outside law firm to look into payroll issues at the sanitary engineer’s department by a 2-1 vote, with only Commissioner Niki Frenchko voting for the measure.

Commissioners Mauro Cantalamessa and Frank Fuda said they voted against it because the commissioners were supposed to go into executive session later in the meeting to discuss the allegations of compensatory, or comp, time misuse, so voting before that would be premature. After Frenchko insisted that the issue be discussed in public, the discussion on the item devolved into an argument that took up a good part of the four-hour meeting.

Matthew Blair, attorney for the sanitary engineer’s department, said that during routine record-keeping, the department was working to update some of its policies and found discrepancies between county policies and department rules regarding payroll. In an attempt to correct the discrepancies, the department is in the process of changing its policy.

Sanitary Engineer Gary Newbrough requested that an internal audit be done, and the audit found issues with some employees and their comp time. Blair said this is not in dispute. Frenchko questioned the validity of the audit because it was internal, and requested an agenda item to hire an outside law firm to complete an audit be created.

“Every time I bring something up, the two of you look for ways to justify why what you’ve been doing, which might not be compliant with the law or our own policies, is the best way to do it,” Frenchko said to her fellow commissioners.

She claimed to have received an email from the state auditor’s office suggesting the county correct the violations or decide to allow them.

Frenchko said the county employees who completed the first audit would want to protect the county, so the audit could be false or misleading. She went as far as to say that the sanitary engineer himself is dishonest, citing problems with contractors his department has hired.

The sanitary engineer’s department routinely hires the lowest bidder to complete projects, but Frenchko claimed that could lead to contractors cutting corners. She told Newbrough she wants his department to keep track of each complaint made against each contractor the county hires, so they can have a documented reason for not going with the lowest bidder if necessary. Newbrough said he has first-hand experience with all the contractors, which allows him to make the best decision.

“You are requiring so much unnecessary work,” Fuda said to Frenchko.

Another motion that failed, which also was brought forth by Frenchko, was to establish a nine-person panel to review complaints at the Trumbull County jail. Frenchko said she has received over a dozen letters alleging mistreatment at the jail. The other commissioners said they do not have these complaints.

Frenchko was arrested in July after she refused to move on in a commissioners meeting after Sheriff Paul Monroe requested an apology after Frenchko read a letter from an inmate’s mother that claimed mistreatment in the jail without first sharing it with the jail.

In other action, the board:

• Adopted a resolution honoring Megan Hipple, a McDonald High School track athlete who was Division III state champion in the 3200-meter run last season;

• Approved the closure of Chestnut Ridge Road between North Fox North Road and Stateline Road for a culvert replacement;

• Granted the closure of Corey Hunt Road between Bristol Champion Townline Road and Housel Craft Road for a culvert replacement;

• Approved the promotion of Dorthea Cain as enforcement specialist 2 bargaining position within the child support enforcement agency;

• Authorized the Trumbull County Family Court to purchase a door lock-control system;

• Adopted a resolution in support of Newton Falls naming the Broad Street bridge the Veterans Memorial Bridge.