Interviews Start For County Division Directors

SEBRING - Highlands County commissioners expect to have people filling all four of the new, top-level administrative positions that they created by March 15.

Within two months, the county's top echelon of administrators will go from two to six.

In addition to the current top two - the administrator and assistant administrator - Highlands County also will have four division directors, each reporting directly either to the administrator or assistant administrator.

Pay scales for the four new division directors range from a low of $65,915 to a top end of $129,272.

Interviews will be conducted soon for the finalists among the more than 100 people who applied for the division director positions. Interviews, in fact, are scheduled Tuesday for the 14 finalists, whittled down from 35 applicants, for the position of Community Services Division Director.

John Minor, head of the county's human resources department, said he expects a list of candidates will be interviewed for the other division director posts within two to three weeks.

All four of the division director jobs, created by the commissioners last fiscal year, include candidates who presently work for the county.

For instance, county Engineer Ramon Gavarette and county Solid Waste Director Ken Wheeler are among the candidates for Public Works Division Director.

In the running for Public Safety Division Director are county employees Bill Nichols, currently the director of emergency operations; Tim Eures, who supervises volunteer fire departments, and Robert Singles.

County employees trying to become Community Services Division Director are Mary Foy, presently director of human services; David Flowers, a former county commissioner and currently head of the facilities department; Gerald Secory, in charge of purchasing; Jeffery Roth and Zane Thomas. Roth is the director of the Children's Advocacy Center.

Rick Helms, the long-time assistant county administrator, was appointed to the fourth division director position, which is called "Administrative Services Division Director/Assistant County Administrator."

Pay ranges for the four new division director positions are:

• Administrative Services Division: $79,310 to $129,272;
  
• Community Services Division: $65,915 to $108,742;
  
• Public Safety Division: $65,914 to $108,742; and
  
• Public Works Division: $72,633 to $119,766.
  

Candidates for the public works division director must be licensed as professional engineers.

Candidates for the public safety division must have state certification as either firefighters, paramedics or EMTs. Requirements for the position also include at least eight years of "progressively responsible, senior-level management" experience, as well as a bachelor's degree, with a master's degree preferred.

One county administrator, from another county, has applied for the position of Community Services Division Director. Minor said that person will automatically get an interview because of the nature of a county administrator's experience.

"We're very optimistic about having all of these positions filled by March 15," Minor said.

If the four were each given the minimum salary, the cost would be $283,823.

If all four of the new management positions are filled at the top of the pay ranges, the cost would be $466,522.

Minor said adding these positions to the payroll won't cost the county a penny extra because they are "revenue neutral." That was accomplished, he said, by the county's office of management and budget eliminating certain vacant job positions that were deemed no longer necessary, as well as other budgeting adjustments.

Commissioners created the four new management positions for greater efficiency and to put a slightly different emphasis on the county administrator's job.

County Administrator Carl Cool, who will retire June 30, and Helms, who plans to retire in about two years, now directly manage 19 departments between them. Cool oversees 10 and Helms manages nine.

With the new set-up, none of the 19 county department heads will report to the county administrator. Instead, all department heads will report to their division directors, and those division directors will report to the county administrator.

The new public safety division director will oversee the fire services, emergency management, emergency medical and animal control departments.

Public works will include the departments of: engineering services, road and bridge, solid waste, development services, and housing.;

The community services division director will oversee the extension services, human services, library services, natural resources and parks and recreation.