Finance Committee To Begin Interviews

The Jefferson County Finance Committee met on Monday, December 1, 2014 in the Historic Jefferson County Courthouse.

The meeting was Called to Order by Chairman McGraw. Absent from Roll Call was Committee Member Tipton. The Minutes and Agenda were Approved with a Motion from Committee Member Palmieri and 2nd from Committee Member Seal.

Under Discussion and Action Related to the Finance Director Vacancy, Chairman McGraw informed the Committee that ten applicants had responded to the advertised vacancy. The Chairman stated that several of the applicants had strong applications and the pool was good. He requested that applicants be referred to by designated letter, rather than name, to protect their current employment and pledged to keep the interview process transparent. Chairman McGraw stated that it would be a strong asset to have a Finance Director in place before budgeting season begins. Mayor Palmieri stated that the pool of applicants looks good and that he favored moving on with the interview process. Palmieri made a Motion to accept the current job description for the Finance Director and was 2nd by Committee Member Huffaker. The Motion Passed 5-1 with Seal voting No.

David Seal made a Motion to keep the application process open to allow for additional applications, though the interview process would begin as soon as possible. He was 2nd by Palmieri and the Motion Passed Unanimously. Following discussion regarding salary, Seal made a Motion to keep the salary for the position at the current level of $83,600 plus benefits and was 2nd by Director of Jefferson County Schools Edmonds. The Motion Passed 4-0-2 with two abstaining.

Committee Members discussed the interview process and determined that they would attempt to narrow the field of applicants and begin the interview process. Each Member gave the assigned letter of the candidates that they would like to see interviewed. One candidate had the vote of all six Committee Members. The next highest candidate had five votes and two candidates tied with four votes. The top four receiving votes will be asked to interview next week.

Following discussion, it was determined that all Committee Members will ask questions in the interview, though they will be vetted in advance to insure that questions are not duplicated. Interviews will be conducted in one day and candidates will not view other interviews. However, they will be open to the public. Upon a Motion from Palmieri and 2nd from Seal, the Committee Approved a background check for the successful applicant.

Chairman McGraw stated that the staff in the Mayor’s office and the County Commission Secretary was very helpful in the search process.