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Pat Olin highlights results-oriented management, bargaining experience and economic-development background in administrator interview
Summary
Pat Olin, the other finalist for Cook County administrator, told commissioners he brings decades of county administration experience, direct bargaining and arbitration experience, and a results-oriented management style focused on departmental one-on-ones, peer review and continuous improvement teams.
Pat Olin, a finalist for Cook County administrator, told the board he would bring “a results orientated management style” and a multi-decade record in county and city administration if selected.
Olin described 23 years in government service concentrated in rural county governments and city administration. He said he had served as county administrator in multiple Minnesota counties, started economic development departments, helped build broadband partnerships and handled collective bargaining work: “I negotiated with 9 different bargaining units,” he told the commissioners, adding he had extensive experience in mediation and arbitration and said he had not lost an arbitration he worked on.
Olin outlined a management approach that relies on monthly one-on-one meetings with department heads, management-team vetting of policy, and creating “continuous improvement teams” to solve cross-department problems. He emphasized documenting budget requests, benchmarking labor comparables and preparing the board with state- and federal-level fiscal context before budget development. On the capital improvement program and strategic planning, he said he has produced five-year CIPs and partnered with outside firms for long-term financial planning.
Asked about relationships with tribal nations, Olin said he has experience engaging tribal governments (Fond du Lac, Leech Lake and others in his prior roles) and would meet regularly with tribal leaders to identify common projects and address disagreements honestly.
Olin said his immediate priorities if hired would include one-on-one meetings with every department head and each commissioner to establish clear deliverables, early work on next year’s budget planning and exploring economic-development opportunities to diversify county revenue streams. He cited organizational work in prior positions — performance-review processes, job-description updates, orientation programs — that he said cut annual staff turnover from a high rate to around 3 percent in one administration.
No hiring decision was made at the close of the interview session. Commissioners thanked both finalists and signaled they would continue the appointment process.
