Fifty-three candidates have applied to be the Charles County Chief Administrator, a position which county commissioners announced at the end of January. This flood of applicants took the commissioners completely by surprise; they expected to receive somewhere along the lines of fifteen applications.
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Charles County Board of |
Commissioner Cooper speculated to The Bay Net that the last election is responsible for the increase in applications. “Most [applicants] are highly qualified,” Commissioner Collins added. Cooper felt that turnover resulting from the elections made more qualified people available than there would otherwise have been. Candidates applied from all over the region and out-of-state. The pool will be narrowed to three or four before interviews begin. The commissioners expect to fill the vacancy within four weeks.
Although they do like to promote from within the county organization, the commissioners weren’t aware of any current county employees who applied for this position.
The commissioners’ intention to hire a Chief County Administrator was announced at the same time as their decision to hire a Chief of Staff and their wish to “modernize and streamline government service and operations.” Chief of Staff Joyce Schmidt took up her position on January 31st.
The commissioners are still studying county departments to determine how they might operate more efficiently. No layoffs are planned yet, but they weren’t ruled out either. Charles County employs over 500 people. Board President Cooper explained that any workforce reduction plans would need to come before the board of commissioners before implementation. They see no need, as yet, to reduce the quantity of county employees in any department under study. In case of layoffs, the commissioners and County Attorney Roger Fink assured The Bay Net that every effort would be made to place redundant employees into other county workforce vacancies.