Proposed chill creates heated discussion

Tempers flared at a feisty Jay County Council meeting Wednesday evening during discussion of a proposed “hiring chill” with an elected county official accusing council of micromanaging departments run by elected officials.

In the end, the hiring chill was scrapped by council.

Discussion on the issue began when Jay County Commissioner Doug Inman approached council for guidance on how the county’s personnel committee, of which Inman is a member, should handle the hiring chill included as one of the two dozen recommendations submitted from the county budget committee and approved by council earlier this year.

The chill would require department heads to meet with the personnel committee when they have opening in their department for approval to fill the empty spot.

Inman had mentioned there are currently at least six departments with openings and wanted council’s opinion on how the personnel committee should handle that issue. Council member Ted Champ spoke in favor of the hiring chill.

“Unless the information I’m receiving is wrong and I do not believe it is wrong, is that some of these positions are staying open for a long time until certain people become available and then we want to fill that position then,” Champ said. “So if we went six months without that position, and then someone comes available, then all of sudden, that position has to be filled.”

He said if the department head came forward about the open position, he’d want to know why the position needs to be filled after being open so long.

“I don’t want to micromanage people but that is not right,” said Champ

His comments draw rebuke from Jay Circuit Court clerk Ellen Coats.

“I’m sure you’re probably referring to my office,” said Coats, who is term-limited and leaving office at the end of the year.

Champ responded by saying he was referring to all county offices.

Coats addressed open positions in her office and said she has hired employees that haven’t worked out for a various reasons. She addressed a recent opening in her office and said the employee was let go because of incompetence.

During her remarks, she accused council of micromanaging departments.

“It’s our departments, we were elected,” said Coats.

“It’s harassment. It’s my office. You guys don’t even come in and know how we work,” she said.

Champ asked why Coats doesn’t fill the position before she leaves office, in an effort to help the newly elected clerk.

“Am I allowed to appoint myself to a position? You tell me,” she responded.

Jay Superior Court Judge Max Ludy spoke in favor of Coats’ position and said council has a budgetary process where it can address problems it might have with how an elected official is running their department.

“I don’t think you do it midstream. You already made your budget,” he said.

During discussion, council president Mike Leonhard said elected officials should have the responsibility to hire employees to fill budgeted positions. However, he said that if the vacancy isn’t filled for a certain amount of time, it should be looked at for elimination.

Council and budget committee member Jeanne Houchins said the proposal was not meant to cut positions or block department heads from hiring employees, but rather to allow time for review.

Inman agreed with her.

“It’s not to micromanage anyone. It was for you all to do your fiduciary responsibility to make sure that the taxpayers' dollar is being spent appropriately. That was it,” he said.

Ultimately, council settled on, with Champ dissenting, amending the recommendations budget committee they had previously approved to allow department heads to replace open positions with the ability to review vacancies during the budgeting process.

In other business, council members Gary Theurer, Bob Vance, Mike Rockwell, Cindy Newton, Leonhard, Champ and Houchins:

•Approved additional appropriations from the general fund in the amount of $5,000 for compensation and $20,000 for utilities at Jay County Jail. Council also approved an additional appropriation of $13,282.71 for equipment repairs at the jail to come out of the Public Safety Local Option Income Tax fund.

•OK’d additional appropriations from the infrastructure fund of $5,200 for an air conditioner at the county health department, $9,780.75 in costs to repair at Jay County Landfill and to put $257,809 into the line-item for new dispatching equipment for Jay County Sheriff’s Office.

•Approved the 2017 salary ordinance.

•Granted approval for numerous departments to transfer funds from one line-item to another.

•Reappointed Roy Bunch to the Jay County Regional Sewer District board.

•Denied appropriating $10,000 from the general fund for the coroner autopsy expense. It was council’s understanding the funds were to get the office through the rest of the year. Auditor Anna Culy said the office currently has about $1,200 left in its budget.