Motion to hire administrative assistant not approved
While all three Fayette County commissioners agreed to ratify the resignation of an administrative assistant, a motion to hire a replacement received no support at a recent agenda meeting.
Mary Schroyer, assistant to Commissioner Al Ambrosini, resigned March 13 after 10 months in the position. Ambrosini said he feels it is necessary to have an administrative assistant.
“We have multiple problems in Fayette County and having an administrative assistant helps me to work on those issues,” he said.
Following the meeting, Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink said that it was the first time Ambrosini made known he intended to hire someone to start this week at the next regular commission meeting on Tuesday.
“I just saw it on the (tentative) agenda,” she said. “I don’t know of any interviews.
“All I saw on the agenda (Tuesday) was the approval to hire ‘to be determined’ on Tuesday,” Zimmerlink said. “I didn’t see any advertisement in the newspaper. I don’t know what he is doing and there was no explanation of what he wanted to do.”
There was no discussion among Zimmerlink, Ambrosini and Commissioner Vincent Zapotosky about their respective stances on the issue at the meeting. Ambrosini said he planned to use applications that were already on file with the human resources department to look for potential candidates for the post.
Not adding staff, said Zimmerlink, will allow her to again propose the restructuring of the commission unit, a plan that she has advocated since taking office in 2005.
“I brought this up before, but it was never supported,” she said. “It appears that it may be supported now.”
The need for the restructuring is due to the failure of the compliance to the administrative assistant job description, Zimmerlink added.
According to the position description, the administrative assistant is required to aid the commissioners and other department employees with projects and programs; attend board meetings for the preparation of minutes; schedule interviews, appointments and meetings for the commissioners and others; interact with internal and external agencies and prepare budget estimates, among other duties.
To qualify for the position, the candidate must possess at minimum an associate’s degree with some clerical and computer training; two years work experience in government or legal fields or comparable experience.
Several of the essential functions of the job, other duties and qualifications for the position are not adhered to, Zimmerlink said.
Zimmerlink did not offer a specific restructuring plan, but said that the “restructuring of the commission unit coupled with the chief clerk office and purchasing office can streamline workflow and make the offices more efficient.”
She also noted that neighboring counties do not have individual administrative assistants for each commissioner.
Zapotosky’s current administrative assistant is Kathy Winkler. Her salary is $26,071. Schroyer’s yearly salary was $24,589. Zimmerlink has declined to employ an assistant.
Zapotosky said Thursday that he is not opposed to hiring a second administrative assistant, as it has been “customary” for those wanting the staff member to do so.
“The only thing that I would ask is that we work as a team,” he said.
As to Zimmerlink’s proposal to streamline the offices, Zapotosky said that a cooperative effort is needed among all the unit’s employees to “pitch in when needed.”
“We have to work collectively,” he said. “Everyone has to work together.”
Ambrosini said he is also an advocate for teamwork, but said he feels the current office offers “pettiness and an air of dissension.”
“It stifles effectiveness and efficiency and it has to stop.”