Section 45-3-120.09 - Employment(a) All classified employees shall be hired from a list of job applicants who meet the job related qualifications for a vacancy. Other employees will be employed in accordance with procedures established by the Barbour County Commission.(b) The judge of probate, sheriff, tax assessor, tax collector, and the county commission as a collective body shall each be authorized to employ on a discretionary basis, one employee to serve as a principal assistant in that office. The persons so employed shall be unclassified employees and need not be hired from a list of applicants, but must meet the job qualifications for the position to which they are to be appointed. The county commission may authorize additional unclassified employees, but it is the intent of this article to keep the assistants to a minimum. If two or more elected offices are combined, the elected official shall have no more than one unclassified employee unless additional unclassified employees are approved by the county commission.Ala. Code § 45-3-120.09 (1975)