Board of Commissioners sets pay scale for new hire
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ALPENA -- It took some spirited debate, but the Alpena County Board of Commissioners was able to agree on a salary scale and educational requirements for candidates to be considered for the vacant county administrator position.
After several votes, the board voted to set the pay scale for the new hire at $85,000 at the low point and $115,000 at the high end.
The county's consultant, Amy Cell, who is leading the hunt for candidates, recommended a wage scale of $110,000 to $130,000 to lure the best potential candidates into applying.
Commissioner Brenda Fournier has been vocal about having a wage in the $100,000 range and made it clear she is against hiring another administrator to replace Mary Catherine Hannah who took an administrative job with Saginaw County.
"I just don't see why we need to hire one at all," she said. "Not when we can do it ourselves."
Commissioner John Kozlowski, who voted for the wage scale, but would like to spend as little as possible to get a qualified candidate, said with the county staring at a budget deficit well over $1.5 million, hiring a candidate that can do the job, at a cost the county can afford, is important.
"I don't know how we can spend $130,000 on a county administrator when we are in the position we are in financially," Kozlowski said. "I know the people who I have talked to are not supportive of that."
Commissioners Bill Peterson and Bert Francisco pushed for a higher wage and more aggressive educational qualifications to try to get the best possible candidate to apply.
Instead of demanding a candidate having a minimum of a bachelor's degree, a majority of the board voted to include potential candidates who have a minimum of five years of experience in business, government, or judicial management. The job posting will say a bachelor's degree is preferred.
Peterson said the conversations he has had with constituents about the wage for a new administrator are different from what Kozlowski claims to have heard from the people he represents.
"I have heard the opposite," Peterson said. "I have heard you get what you pay for and been encouraged to get the best administrator we can."
Now that the commissioners have reached an agreement on the compensation for a new administrator, Cell will post and market the position for about four weeks and then work an additional week to filter through the interested candidates and begin the communication process.
Then, Cell will produce a list of between seven and 10 candidates for the county and the interview process with the commissioners will begin.
That list is expected to arrive on March 29, but no dates are set for the formal interviews before the board of commissioners.
In the meantime, Jennifer Mathis is acting as the interim administrator for the county.