Search stalled for new finance director

She was unanimously approved by the board of commissioners on July 15. The permanent position was posted and set to expire on July 31 with the intent on hiring someone in August.

However, finding the right fit hasn’t been so easy.

“We’ve really not had much response at all,” Administrative Officer Tyler Stone told the board of commissioners last Wednesday. “We’ve been out locally. We’ve been out regionally. We’ve been out city wide. We’ve been out to the Association of City and County Finance Officers. We’ve been through the AOC [Association of Oregon Counties], blanket recruiting. And that’s where we are right now. We need to get it filled, and we’re not having much luck right now.”

Smith-Wagar and Stone said they’ve even tried Craigslist and recommended the board of commissioners hire a search firm.

“They kind of colloquially call them a headhunter firm,” Smith-Wagar said. “There’s a number of firms that do this and some of them actually specialize in government. As a CPA [Certified Public Accountant] registered in Oregon, I get notifications all of the time for jobs.

“They also target other official certification groups. They have lists of people and people can go to these firms and say they are looking for a job and they’ll help find a job. This is what they do. They go out and find these people. The downside is the cost.”

Smith-Wagar estimated that would be in the neighborhood of $20,000.

The City of The Dalles spent $21,253 on a similar firm to conduct a nationwide search for a city manager.

“In my opinion it’s worth it to get the right person in this position,” Smith-Wager said.

The money would likely come from contingency in the general fund.

“Contingency is actually pretty easy to move money,” Smith-Wagar said. “Primarily it needs to be an unforeseen circumstance that didn’t exist when the budget was being prepared.”

Stone noted the commissioners should also considered increasing the wage scale, which currently sits between $6,314 and $7,885 a month.

One highly qualified candidate who previously applied had a change of heart when they saw the wage scale, which was determined by a HR Answers market survey.

Commission Chair Scott Hege said the county should first try increasing the wage before it spends $20,000 on a recruiter.

“Let’s deal with the issue of the compensation and then see if we find somebody interested in that compensation because it sounds like we potentially found somebody interested but we didn’t have the compensation adjusted,” he said. “My opinion is let’s look at that first, deal with that, see how it goes and then look at the possibility of a recruiter if we still can’t find somebody.”

Runyon and Commissioner Steve Kramer agreed with Hege.

Smith-Wagar, who is in Wasco County three days a week, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, will also be at the Jan. 6 commissioners meeting for other business.

Stone has tried to talk her into staying permanently.

“She really helped us figure out the mess with our treasurer and get finance where we want it to be,” Stone said. “This is probably the most important position that we have to fill for the county as far as administration goes. The bar is pretty high.”