- Elizabeth Larson
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Board of Supervisors approves recruitment process for new county administrative officer
County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson announced on Thursday that she is retiring as of April 29, as Lake County News has reported.
On Tuesday, Human Resources Director Pam Samac went before the board to recommend beginning an open recruitment by Friday, leaving it open until the job is filled.
She said the first review of the recruitment would take place in 15 to 20 days, with the first round of applicants to be interviewed during the last week of April or the first week of May.
At the same time, Samac recommended having Human Resources and the County Administrative Office prepare a request for proposals for a headhunting firm, if needed.
Given the time needed to recruit for a county administrative officer, Samac recommended immediately opening a promotional — or internal — recruitment for an interim county administrative officer. That would run for five days, with interviews to take place the week of April 4.
If an internal candidate is appointed, Samac said it would allow them three weeks to work with Huchingson for a “thorough download” and some basic training.
She asked for an estimated budget of $3,500 for advertising and recruitment costs, explaining the county would advertise the position on the normal job boards and some additional sites.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said he liked the idea of seeking a different headhunter but he wanted to make sure to coordinate the open recruitment and the request for proposals, as he was concerned about potentially losing good candidates if the process went on too long.
Supervisor Moke Simon thanked Huchingson for her service and said it was going to be a “monumental task” for the board to find someone to fill her shoes.
Supervisor Tina Scott echoed Simon’s sentiments. “You’ve done an amazing job and it was a pleasure to work with you over the last five years,” she said to Huchingson.
“Time is of the essence here. We need to move fast,” Scott added.
Samac said she had heard from some headhunters who are saying they are too busy to take on more work, so she hoped to be able to find a company to do the work.
Huchingson said staff would agendize an agreement with a recruitment firm for the board to approve.
Sabatier moved to approve the recruitment strategy put forward by Samac, with Simon seconding and the board approving it 5-0.
Later on Tuesday, the county posted the interim county administrative officer job, which is promotional only, on its website.
The position’s salary ranges from $173,184 to $210,492 annually.
For the last several years, Human Resources has been under the direction of Huchingson’s office, raising questions about how much of a hand she ultimately will have on the selection of her successor.
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032222 Interim CAO Job — Job Bulletin by LakeCoNews on Scribd