The County Commission voted 5-3 on Wednesday morning for a $27,762 buyout of the contract of Magistrate Charles Rucker.
Commissioner Charlotte Vandergriff said, "I have a problem with severance pay for unacceptable performance."
But Commissioner Greg Beck said it was preferable to a full buyout that would have cost over $80,000. The 4-year contract was due to run through October 2007.
Voting in favor were Commissioners Beck, Curtis Adams, Lou Miller, Larry Henry and Bill Hullander.
Opposed were Commissioners Vandergriff, Fred Skillern and Richard Casavant.
Commissioner William Cotton was absent.
Louis Wright, county finance director, said the amount was arrived at because it netted Mr. Rucker $18,000 after taxes. He said he stated he "needed that amount to satisfy some obligations he had."
Mr. Rucker had come under fire from some commissioners for a racial remark and later for some bond decisions and his temperament on the bench.
A fellow magistrate, James Anderson, said Mr. Rucker had the most difficult schedule of the three magisrates and suffered from heart problems. He said he was under heavy medication.
Mr. Anderson said, "Given the amount of medication he was on and the stress level, some of his behavior was understandable if not excusable."
Commissioner Vandergriff said, "I think Mr. Rucker was correct in submitting his resignation. Throughout his employment there have been numerous instances that were questionable."
Commissioner Casavant said he favors giving "zero" to the magistrates in the upcoming budget. He said, "No one oversees this group and they are not doing their job properly."
He said, "It is totally inappropriate to reward them by buying them off. I am very troubled by this action."
Commissioner Skillern said, "The whole program has not been satisfactory. This is just a piece of the problem."