§ 2-66. County administrator.

(a)

Position created. There is hereby created the position of county administrator.

(b)

Appointment. The county administrator position, when vacant, shall be filled via the following procedure:

(1)

The executive committee shall act as a selection committee.

(2)

The committee shall review the credentials of all applicants and select a group of not less than three persons for personal interviews.

(3)

Following completion of all scheduled interviews, the selection committee shall forward to the full board at its next meeting a recommendation to hire one of the candidates.

(4)

A majority vote of those members present in favor of the hiring resolution shall end the selection process. Should the motion fail, the selection committee shall restart the process outlined above.

(c)

Qualifications. The county will seek candidates with relevant education, administrative, management, and government experience. Candidates who are not credentialed by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), may be required to obtain that certification, or pursue other professional development opportunities, as a condition of employment. The selection committee is authorized to use discretion in evaluating candidate qualifications to bring forward their recommendation to the county board for appointment.

(d)

Authority, duties and responsibilities.

(1)

The county administrator reports directly to the county board through the chairman and the executive committee.

(2)

The county administrator is responsible for gathering and disseminating to the board objective information which will aid in their decision-making process including, where appropriate, staff recommendations.

(3)

The county administrator facilitates and promotes communication between the board, the public, department heads, county employees, external boards, commissions and their governments.

(4)

The county administrator provides key staff support to the board in its policy formulation efforts and makes recommendations as appropriate. The county administrator assures that the actions of the board, as expressed through their various ordinances and resolutions, are carried out.

(5)

The county administrator is responsible for the day-to-day coordination and operation of all county services that are under the control of the county board.

(6)

The county administrator is authorized, pursuant to a departmental request, to amend departmental budgets between line-items and categories within a department's total appropriation of all their cost centers within a fund, but only the county board may increase or decrease the total fund appropriation for a department.

(7)

In the event of an emergency, the county administrator, in consultation with the chair, vice-chair, the finance chair, and the chair of the relevant jurisdiction committee, may authorize additional spending to address the emergency, but such expenditures must be reported to the finance committee at their next regular meeting.

(8)

The county administrator is responsible for the allocation, use, renovation, safety, and stewardship of the county's buildings and grounds.

(9)

The county board retains the authority to approve the number of authorized positions for each department, but the county administrator may approve staff re-organizations within a department where the resulting annualized expenses do not exceed the monies already budgeted.

(10)

Labor contracts are to be negotiated and recommended by the county administrator to the county board for the board's final approval. Before negotiations begin, the county administrator shall gather input from the executive committee and then the county administrator. Board chair, and board vice-chair shall establish negotiation parameters and strategy. Labor disputes and policy interpretations arising above the departmental level will be handled by the county administrator.

(11)

When a vacancy exists at the department head level (other than that of county administrator), the county administrator, the chair of the relevant jurisdiction committee, and either the board chair or vice-chair (to even out political party representation if possible), are responsible for bringing forward to the appropriate county board committee up to five candidates for consideration by the committee. If none of the candidates are found to be acceptable by the committee, or the county board, the process starts over.

(12)

Performance evaluations for county board appointed department heads will be conducted by the county board in a manner determined from time to time by the executive committee of the county board. The county administrator may submit input to the board as part of that evaluation process. The county administrator may also choose to perform interim evaluations as deemed appropriate.

(13)

In situations where the county administrator deems it necessary, the county administrator shall have the power to order the immediate suspension of a county board appointed department head, with or without pay as deemed appropriate, until acted upon by the county board. In such cases, the county board shall act on the suspension at their next regular monthly meeting to reinstate, or take other appropriate action, or to permanently remove the department head.

(e)

Limitations on authority. No provision of this section is intended to vest in or grant to the county administrator any duty or any authority which is vested by general law or ordinance in any other county officer, official, or employee. No provision of this section shall be construed to delegate to the county administrator any authority reserved to the county board by law; nor may the county administrator purchase or sell real estate on behalf of the county, nor bind the county to any debt obligation, unless specifically granted such authority by an ordinance or resolution.

(f)

Removal. The county administrator is an employee at will who serves at the pleasure of the board. The county administrator may be removed by a majority vote of the full county board at any regular meeting of the board. In situations where the chairman deems it necessary, the chairman shall have the power to order the immediate suspension of the county administrator with pay until acted upon by the board. In such cases, the board shall act on the suspension at their next regular meeting, voting to remove permanently, or take other appropriate action, or reinstate the county administrator.

(Code 1979, § 2-57; Ord. No. 97-24, 11-19-97; Ord. No. 2012-11, 7-18-12; Ord. No. 2017-01, 2-15-17; Ord. No. 2017-06, 5-17-17)

Editor's note

Ordinance No. 97-24, adopted November 19, 1997, amended § 2-66 to read as herein set out. Formerly, such section pertained to administrative aide to county board.