The Maumee City Council Personnel Committee voted to forward a human-resources manager job description to the full council and to approve the description while withholding advertisement of the position pending further decisions.

Committee members said the document should move to the council so recruitment can begin, but they also recorded lingering questions about the organization of payroll reporting. One committee member said payroll has been reporting to finance "because we don't have that, you know, an HR function," and asked why Worksprings recommended that the payroll coordinator report to the HR manager rather than to finance.

Worksprings, the outside consultant that prepared the HR review, recommended the payroll coordinator report to the HR manager on the basis that an on-staff HR professional can handle conflicts such as sick-pay disputes and provide a clearer internal compliance role. Committee members said that reporting lines can be adjusted later and that the recommendation reflected Worksprings' typical practice.

Committee members discussed whether to advertise the position immediately. One member said many city employees are "wearing a lot of different hats" and that momentum is being lost while vacancies remain. Despite that, the committee approved the description and agreed not to advertise until council direction.

Committee members also discussed pay-range placement for the HR manager. Staff referenced the city's employee handbook, which lists an "HR manager" at pay range 4. Staff said the handbook range for a range-4 HR manager was reasonable and that actual starting pay would depend on candidate experience.

The committee agreed to present the approved job description and the handbook pay range language to the full council so the council can decide whether to authorize recruitment and finalize advertising.

Votes and next steps: The motion to approve the HR job description for referral to council and to withhold advertising passed on a roll call; the committee recorded affirmative votes and will place the description on the full-council agenda for final action.