ESCANABA — Delta County could soon have a new controller/human resources specialist after the most recent county board meeting.

On Thursday, the Delta County Board of Commissioners held a Committee of the Whole meeting for an informal discussion regarding the need for more assistance in the county’s administration.

County Administrator Ashleigh Young told the board she needs assistance in completing her many roles and responsibilities.

The board is looking at adding a position to take on some of the current position’s responsibilities and day-to-day operations so Young can oversee the department and have more flexibility in her schedule. The board acknowledged that she is currently putting in 80-hour work weeks.

Young will still serve as the administrator, but the county is looking to essentially add an assistant for Young, who will complete day-to-day tasks.

She said when the HR specialist administrator clerk was developed in 2023, there was a massive amount of HR work to be done.

“As time has progressed, in talking to my staff and other departments, the need is for somebody in finance that is available and (can) answer questions on a day-to-day basis. I have lots of meetings that you’re all (the board) aware of that I attend, and I can’t; I’m not there to answer their questions right away. So, we’re looking for somebody with that is watching over the finances every day, so, that is their main request,” Young said.

Young’s current position has gone through changes over the years, combining and dividing the administrator’s responsibilities.

Commissioner Christine Williams noted the language in the job descriptions, saying the two descriptions of the administrator/controller and the controller/HR specialist have several lines of overlapping responsibilities.

She said she wanted to clean up the language and clarify that the two positions are separate.

Williams asked if the new position would remove responsibility or take tasks away from Young that she currently performs.

“Just tasks, not the responsibility. The responsibility is still held in this position,” Young explained.

Commissioner Kelli van Ginhoven wanted to clarify that Young was essentially moving from performing or doing tasks to supervising or overseeing the completion.

“In part, yes. But I would still be attending the meetings, talking with them – but I’m not entering the numbers into the system,” Young said.

The board also discussed potential pay for a controller/HR specialist, with Williams pointing out there was a salary reduction for the county administrator/controller/HR specialist when it was split in 2020.

“Back in 2020, when they pulled this controller position out of the administrator position, they reduced the administrator salary by $7,000 to accommodate that,” Williams said.

Young pointed out that the board at the time agreed to give a $3,000 raise after three months, with an additional $3,000 raise after six months.

The board discussed the potential salary for the new position, aiming for $55,000 per year. The county currently has $45,000 budgeted as an open HR specialist/administrative clerk has not been filled, meaning the county needs an additional $10,000 to fund the position. The job has been posted since June of 2023.

van Ginhoven said it would be hard to go back and explain to the constituents that the county needs more money.

“It’s going to be hard for me to go back to my constituents and say, you know, to be just frank and honest, Miss Young took this position knowing what she was getting into. It was repeatedly stated that they were going to hire her because it was going to save the county $100,000, and here we go two years in, and now we’re going to be costing the county more,” she said.

The decision on the new position will go through clerical work before it goes back to the board. The business item first goes to the personnel committee to fine-tune the job description before heading to the finance committee. There was also discussion that the County’s contract with Young would have to be renegotiated or restructured to reflect the new job description.

The board will meet again on Tuesday, March 18 at 5:15 p.m.