Concerns regarding staffing in the office of the clerk prompted Sumpter Township trustees to revisit their earlier approval of a temporary employee in the office.
During the Jan. 25 meeting of the members of the board, Trustee Matt Oddy suggested that the board approve the hiring of a temporary employee to handle payroll and payable duties in the clerk's office. Those duties had been added to the responsibilities of Township Clerk Esther Hurst when former Township Administrator Michelle Cole abruptly resigned in November. Oddy expressed his concern about the staffing levels and the current workload in the clerk's office.
“We definitely need to hire somebody,” Oddy explained. “I would like to hire a full-time temporary employee to handle this work and bring some relief to the clerk's office.”
Oddy said that while the board members had agreed to have ADP handle payroll at a $60,000 annual fee, the necessary hiring of a full-time clerk to handle human resources and payroll would increase that cost. “Should we bring that back in-house and handle it ourselves?” he said. “I think we should approve a temp to handle payroll and payable duties until we decide what we want to do.”
Trustee Don LaPorte said that he felt that the duties in question should be performed by a salaried or non-union employee.
“It's not proper to have an hourly union person overseeing family and medical leaves of another union employee,” he said.
“I would like to a motion to table this request to see what plans are. I think it is prudent to take our time and get all the facts in front of us.”
LaPorte suggested the board table the hiring of a full-time temporary employee for two weeks.
Oddy reminded the board members that they had previously authorized the employment of a temporary employee in the clerk's office and asked that they act on that previous approval to provide some aid in Hurst's office. He asked that the minutes of the meeting reflect the trustees' past approval of that hiring.
Trustees agreed that the person hired would be a “different level of clerk and a different caliber of employee” and said an accounting background would be preferable in light of the current work assigned to Hurst's office.
Deputy Clerk Anthony Burdick commented that he could reach out to some past employment candidates “who had these qualifications” to see if there was any level of interest in the position.
Trustees unanimously agreed to his suggestion.
Hurst and Trustee Peggy Morgan were excused from the meeting.
