Supervisors agree new personnel director is needed

It is time to recruit a new personnel director for Glenn County.

That was the consensus of the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday with some encouragement from County Counsel Huston Carlyle, who has been doing the job as interim personnel director since 2010.

He took on the task to help the county save money following the retirement of long-time Personnel Director John Greco.

"It is taking way too much time and is growing," Carlyle said of the personnel duties.

Supervisors directed him to advertise for a new personnel department head and see where it goes.

Funding for the position is uncertain, officials said, since Finance Director Edward Lamb has been unable to find extra cash, Supervisor Mike Murray said.

However, Murray suggested using contingency fund money if necessary to get somebody on board.

He put the item on Tuesday's agenda, he said, because of concerns expressed by other department heads and his colleagues.

"This in no way is a criticism of the interim director's performance," Murray said, it is about spreading the workload.

Murray added having Carlyle do both jobs has become a liability because he cannot handle personnel cases on the county's behalf, which means outside counsel must be hired.

"I definitely concur with Supervisor Murray," Supervisor John Viegas said. "We need to look at getting this position back in the department of personnel."

Viegas said it is pulling Carlyle away from his county counsel job.

In addition, there is a need for county safety officer, Viegas said, who can work to train staff on safety compliance issues.

Murray also suggested the position be funded for around $107,000 a year including benefits.

He said $35,000 to $40,000 would be cost for the remainder of the 2012-2013 fiscal year, which should be something the county could do. But funding it next year could be problematic.

Supervisor Dwight Foltz said the burden of the personnel director's salary should be spread out among both the county's general funded and non-general funded departments.

"Mr. Carlyle has put for a Herculean effort," Supervisor Leigh McDaniel said, "trying to keep both of these departments going. The last thing I want to do is drive the man crazy."

Carlyle noted in his upcoming performance evaluation he said the personnel job is becoming more time consuming.

Questions about departments doing paperwork right are constantly being posed, he said, but are not a high priority on his schedule.

Negotiations with the county's bargaining units also will begin in the spring since the agreements end June 30, Carlyle said.

He plans to inform past applicants of the opening from when the county advertised it a few months ago and also seek new ones, the director said.

"We didn't fill the position because there was no money," Board Chairman Steve Soeth said. "We bought ourselves a couple of years."

Now things are somewhat better, he said, so it is time to see if the position can get filled.