County administrator's authority questioned
Members debate Hamilton's hiring of high school intern
Comments (...)Grundy County Personnel Committee members, during a special meeting Monday, debated the authority of County Administrator Shawn Hamilton.
The committee's scheduled January meeting had been canceled due to a snow storm, and it was originally thought there was nothing on that agenda that couldn't wait until the next regular meeting.
"(Board Chairman Ron Severson and Vice Chairman John Almer) notified me Mrs. (Mille) Dyer called a special meeting because she was upset about the administrative intern," Hamilton said.
The unpaid position, Hamilton recapped, was first discussed at the Nov. 1 department head meeting, at which he asked the departments how an intern from an area high school or college could be used. He asked for feedback from all the departments, and some were concerned with having a high-school intern in certain roles, such as in the technology department, because of security concerns.
Hamilton said the committee was going to be informed of the position at the meeting that was canceled. The idea was to create a new partnership with the schools that would help students understand how government works. An intern from Coal City High School has since started in the position.
"I was upset in that things like that should come through committee, and it should have been presented to Personnel," Dyer said Wednesday. She did not comment on this during the meeting.
Although the last meeting was canceled, she continued, Hamilton should have waited on moving forward with the intern until it could be discussed at a committee meeting. She said she had concerns about the departments in which an intern would be used. She did not want a student being in human resources, she said.
The program was not put through the committee system because it is an unpaid position, Hamilton said. The idea was to have an intern go through the hiring process, such as submitting a resume and doing an interview, for the experience. The intern would then work with Hamilton and county departments on specific projects.
"The question becomes what is in Shawn Hamilton's authority to do?" and which of his duties are going to be micromanaged, Hamilton said to the committee Monday.
Severson said he received a phone call from someone in Minooka asking about the program. He told her the county did not have an intern program, because he was unaware of what Hamilton had set up.
"No one is against the idea of an intern program, but it should have been relayed to me and the head of Personnel (Dyer)," Severson said.
Severson said committee members needed to ask questions, such as whether there was documentation with the schools, how the intern is getting to the county building, who is liable if there is an accident while the student is en route, and other concerns.
"There are sensitive areas in this building — HR, the morgue, EMA," Severson said. "All this needs to be on a sheet of paper. The committee needed to ask questions and, if the questions were answered, then everyone would say it's a good program."
There was also concern that Morris and Coal City high schools were the only county schools contacted for the program. Severson and Dyer said it should have been opened up countywide.
Because it was a pilot program, and it's the middle of the school year, Hamilton said he only contacted the two superintendents with which he had relationships. If the program is successful and expanded, it would be open to all the county's high schools.
Committee member Dave Boggs added that Hamilton brought up during his interview for the county administrator position that he wanted to bring in unpaid interns, so the board was aware of his ideas. Member Ann Gill was also in favor of Hamilton's action.
"I like the initiative," Gill said. "That's what we hired him for."
Hamilton said there would have been discussion with the entire committee if the last meeting had not been canceled. He felt the discussion would be more beneficial among the group than with just the committee chairwoman or county chairman individually.
"Because the sense I received was there were only a couple of individuals asking questions who made the assumption I wouldn't have asked these (security and liability) questions myself," Hamilton said.
In addition, if Dyer or other committee members had questions, Hamilton said he always has an "open door" policy, where they could come talk to him, and Dyer did not contact him. Dyer again did not respond to this at the meeting, but said Wednesday she would have appreciated a phone call from Hamilton giving her a heads up on the new position.
Severson said the former county administrator would come into his office daily, sharing what was on the plate for the county. Severson would give him direction on which topics to put before each committee.
"There are people you and I have to answer to," he said.
Hamilton said he works for the 18 board members collectively.
"But there's a disconnect with the majority of the board ... its the majority versus a couple of board members, depending on the issue," he said.
"The question is, do I work under what the board wants collectively, or what the individual members want, and who say 'Hey, stop doing this.'"
Both Severson and Dyer voted against the hiring of Hamilton last September.
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Chef, remember the recent uproar about Terry Shaw? Not one of the people leading the complaints about her leadership at Shabbona were elected board members. It would be great if more people on the board spoke out against corruption, but the Democrats don't really have a leg to stand on until the Halpin issues are settled one way or the other. How's that investigation going? It sure doesn't look like it's going to be resolved quickly. |
