Bernie MacLellan, warden of Huron County. File photo.
HEATHER BOA Bullet News GODERICH – Interviews for the top job in Huron County’s administration may begin as early as this weekend, after a hiring committee hammered out a short list of candidates.
Forty-five applications were received by the Nov. 8 deadline, and the following day a committee of county councillors whittled them down to a handful of people it would like to interview.
“I’m always happy when you get lots of applications. That means that people are interested in coming to work in Huron County,” said Bernie MacLellan, who is the county’ warden. He is working with councillors Ben Van Diepenbeek, Deb Shewfelt, George Robertson and Dave Jewitt, along with Nigel Bellchamber, of N.G. Bellchamber and Associates, to present two or three candidates to council for final selection.
If the process goes smoothly, they will have someone in place by the targeted first week of January 2013.
On Sept. 11, employment ended with the county for chief administrative officer, Larry Adams, director of finance and deputy CAO, David Carey, and director of human resources, Darcy Michaud, after being on non-disciplinary administrative leave. Its clerk, Barb Wilson, handed in her resignation on Sept. 5.
Heather Adams was hired June 6 as acting CAO on an interim basis, but the remainder of the positions had been left vacant so that the new CAO could built the new team. Last month, Adams told council she was concerned by the amount of background work typically completed by the clerk that wasn’t getting done and asked to hire a new clerk.
On Nov. 7, South Huron’s clerk, Michael DiLullo, was appointed acting county clerk on a temporary part-time basis, with an agreement that the county will reimburse the municipality.
“We thought it was in the best interest of the county to have somebody come up here and fill in,” said Coun. George Robertson, who is the mayor of South Huron. He said his municipality’s clerk is capable of doing the job and it will be good experience for him.
He said the municipality currently has a deputy clerk, who “will not be replaced when the time comes.”
