HANSLEY
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The Union County Commissioners have selected an interim administrator.
The commissioners have named retired Delaware County administrator Timothy Hansley as the interim county administrator.
“He will serve until we have a permanent replacement,” Union County Commissioner Gary Lee said.
He said Hansley is “just excited to help us. I think he couldn’t find enough to do in retirement.”
Hansley will replace Eric Richter who earlier this month announced he would step down and become township administrator in Washington Township, Franklin County.
“We gave Tim a call to see if he would be interested in helping us during the time it takes to hire an administrator,” Lee said, adding that he has known Hansley, “for years.”
Hansley, a Dublin resident, will begin in Union County on Monday, though his appointment will not be officially voted on until Tuesday. Lee said it was important to get Hansley into the position before Richter leaves Sept. 15, to update him on current county projects and 2018 budget considerations.
“We wanted to get that week with Eric,” Lee said. “We feel good that we are getting that week.”
He called Hansley, “a respected public administrator with a wealth of knowledge and experience.”
Hansley served as Delaware County administrator from 2010 to February 2016. Prior to that, he served as city manager in Pickerington, Beavercreek, Conneaut, Dublin, Lebanon and Tipp City and was in the city administration in Westerville and Cincinnati.
Hansley graduated from Capitol University with a degree in political science and from the University of Oklahoma with a masters degree in public administration. He has taught public administration classes at both Wright State and Capital universities.
Hansley said he has an ability, “to combine a broad base of professional knowledge with a high level of sensitivity for an organization’s unique perspective, needs and vision for its future.”
The interim administrator will be paid $1,350 weekly. Lee said the commissioners will work to keep him under 30 hours per week. Under county policy, employees with less than 30 hours per week are not covered by health insurance.
“There is a substantial savings there,” Lee said.
The commissioners have set “a tentative goal of having a new administrator on-board by the first of the year.”
They are in the process of reviewing the administrator’s job description, “to make sure it says what we want it to say.”
Lee said there likely will be no major changes, though there could be “some minor tweaks” to address changes in the county since Richter was hired.
“We are having discussions right now whether we are going to hire a recruitment firm to help us with this,” Lee said. “Once we make that decision, we will work with our HR (human resources) director to come up with a posting.”
Officials said they expect the job will be posted for three weeks.
Lee said there would likely be an interview committee of office holders and others. He said the county will likely use a process similar to the one used to hire Richter.