A new job description is in the works for the Shawano County administrative coordinator job, one that could even see the role reduced to a part-time position.
Members of the county executive committee are reviewing the role and responsibilities following the October resignation of Jim Davel, who held the post since May 2021.
“We are going to have to come up with an amended job description that will then be sent to Cottingham and Butler (formerly Carlson Dettmann Consulting) for evaluation and placement on our wage scale,” Julie Hasser, human resources director and interim administrative coordinator, told the committee Nov. 12. “When we look at that job description and what (Supervisor) Randy (Mallmann) was speaking to, I do think some consideration needs to be taken or looked at that a lot of those responsibilities other people have been doing.”
While Hasser has taken on the title of interim administrative coordinator, some of the responsibilities of the job have been turned over to others as well, including the finance director.
Mallmann suggested considering which of those duties could continue to be done by others and not by the new hire.
On Nov. 3, committee members met with department heads to gather input from them. Some of those people said they can manage their departments without an administrative coordinator.
“I know that some of the directors feel they don’t need a coordinator, but I think the board does,” Supervisor Randy Young said. “We need someone to push the resolutions … someone’s got to be following that.”
Supervisor Tom Kautza agreed.
“Somebody’s got to follow the whole process,” he said.
Young said future discussions can focus on whether the department heads report to the administrative coordinator, but he believed there needs to be someone at the top.
“What the role is, we can decide,” he said. “We need someone to go to when something is happening.”
Supervisor Kathy Luebke said that some department heads can take on other responsibilities, but not all of them.
“We need somebody,” she said. “I don’t think it’s fair to put it on HR or the finance. They have their own stuff.”
Mallmann said the committee needs to keep in mind that even if some department heads say they don’t need or want an administrative coordinator, those department heads won’t be there forever. New staff may have different thoughts.
Hasser said now would be the time to make changes to the position.
“We’re sitting at a perfect opportunity to make those correct changes,” Mallmann said.
“It doesn’t have to be a big, high-level position,” Kautza said. “I think the biggest thing that’s needed around here is one individual to go to all the committee meetings and put it together.”
Hasser agreed it is going to be a different type of position. With some responsibilities removed and a possible change in reporting structure, those changes alone will affect where it falls on the wage scale. That will help determine the type of person it will attract, potentially making it more difficult to fill.
Mallmann disagreed.
“I think it might be easier than we think,” he said. “It’s going to be a role with a lot less authoritative type actions, and we might find the right person — I’m not going to say it’s a part-time position, but it might possibly be a part-time position — but if it’s a coordinator kind of position, there’s a lot more people interested in that. There’s a lot less stress level.”
He said it’s important the county retain the good department heads it has now, which will require less work from a new administrative coordinator.
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