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05/12/2006: "Serious Questions On CC Selection Process"

Who's idea was it?
The County Council recently met to review a list of applicants the consulting firm of Waldron & Company had selected as potential candidates for the County Administrator position. The process involved the weeding out of over 50 applicants that Councilman Myhr labeling as "well qualified individuals" . Myhr said it was "Difficult to get down to the twelve" candidates that now form a group that will be thinned down to a final list of 3 or 5.

The process of making the 12 choices was made in executive session, which is the normal process when the County discusses the qualifications of job applicants. But what was unexpected -and may be a first for the County- the Council excluded their Human Resources manager, Becky Rusnak, as well as Karen Vedder, their attorney, and also pro-tem County Administrator David Goldsmith from the meeting. Rusnak and Vedder had just sat down for the meeting, when Lichter announced that the room was to be cleared for the executive session. Vedder asked Lichter "You don't want me to be here?" Lichter replied that only the Council and the Waldron representative would be involved in the meeting.

The exclusions has raised some eyebrows and some questions, both within and outside of County government, as to why would the Council not want local, and also possible legal input, on such an important decision from their Human Resources director and their attorney. In yet another unexpected development, Becky Rusnak, SJC Human Resource Manager, announced her resignation to the Council, and will be leaving before the end of the month. Asked if there was a relationship between her sudden announcement and her exclusion from the meeting, Rusnak simply said that "it is time to move on". The question remains as to who came up with the idea to exclude staff from observing, and being a part of, the first selection process. The Council said Waldron & Company is the reason, but an executive at Waldron, says no, that is not the case.


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During Citizen Access time at Council meetings, members of the public may address the Council, and former freeholder Charlie Bodenstab raised a question last week of the wisdom of the Council excluding those who are charged with giving advice to the Council, and specifically on a matter as important to the whole county, as to who should be selected as the County Administrator.

Because it is the policy of the Council to not answer or engage in dialog with those who speak during Public Access Time, no answer was forthcoming from the Council. However at this weeks meeting the question was once again raised during the regular session, when Susan Robins asked the same question for a second time after Councilman Bob Myhr gave a report on the progress thus far in the selection process (see related story below). Myhr did not directly respond to the question of the why the exclusions were made, but this time Councilman Lichter forcefully stated that "They (Waldron) prefer -and strongly suggested- that only council members be involved in the selection process so far".

Lichter's statement on Tuesday was a re-statement of those made in past meetings, and also made to The Island Guardian that it was the "strongly stated advice of Waldron and Associates" that the meetings be held in executive session, and that only the Council and a Waldron "Executive Search Practice Leader" be present to help the Council discuss qualifications, and decide which of the applicants will move forward in the process.

The Guardian sent an email to Alan Lichter asking if he would clarify his reasons for following advice the Council has said came from Waldron and Company, and Lichter responded that "They're the professionals and know much, much more about the process than the Council. It seems prudent not to second-guess them". Kevin Ranker has stated in a staff meeting, and then again in a Council meeting that "Waldron was very clear on this matter".

In response to an enquire to Councilman Myhr as to why would one exclude their own professionals from the selection process, he replied "Waldron, as our consultant, has strongly recommended that we, the Council, and our pro-tem administrator, interview candidates in executive session" . When pressed on the issue of why the Council had specifically excluded Rusnak and Vedder, who would expect to be there with the Council, Myhr said that "in the interest of maintaining confidentially, it was important to keep the number of interviewers limited".

in a phone interview with an executive from Waldron & Company, the Island Guardian was informed that their company did not advise, strongly or otherwise, that the Council exclude from the executive sessions the SJ County Human Resources Manager, or anyone from the Prosecutor's office; and added with a laugh "We would only ask that the press not be there".

Waldron also stated that while some Counties will exclude all but those who make a final hiring decision, it is not the policy of Waldron to advise on that policy, that it is up to city or county officials to decide who is involved, and who is not. Councilman Myhr told the Island Guardian that "Notwithstanding statements or minutes that may seemingly be to the contrary, Waldron does not make that final decision about the interview process. We, the Council make that decision".

Waldron's statement was corroborated by a senior County official, who said that Waldron was surprised to learn that they were being credited for giving advice that they had not, in fact, given; that it was simply not the case that the Council was following advice from Waldron to exclude the Human Resources and Prosecutor's representatives from being a part of the selection team; a team that would normally be invited to attend executive sessions to give advice to the Council based on their respective expertise in human resources and accompanying legal issues. That is, to do their job.