The Hall County Board of Commissioners voted Thursday night to start a practice of ensuring that county pension money isn’t invested in financial institutions “with active business operations in the petroleum and energy industry” in Iran or Sudan.

A resolution passed by the board states that federal elected officials have “declared that atrocities and genocide have been committed against the citizens of regions in Sudan” and that Iran has “failed to suspend” uranium-related activities in nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Commissioner Ashley Bell, who introduced the resolution, said that other governments in the state, including Atlanta and DeKalb County, have passed similar resolutions.

“We’re a local government, but the reality is we invest and spend the pennies and taxpayer dollars you give us and we live in a global community,” he said. “And the money we spend ... can end up anywhere. We need to make sure the places where we’re spending our money match our moral values and ethics.”

In other business, County Administrator Randy Knighton announced that Katie Crumley, assistant news director at WDUN-AM, has been named the county’s new spokeswoman. She replaces Nikki Young, who left to become public relations manager for the city of Lilburn