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Richland County committee narrows county administrator recruitment, moves to closed session under state statute
Summary
The Richland County Executive Finance Standing Committee discussed candidate confidentiality, background checks and interview logistics for the county administrator search, then voted to enter a closed session under Wisconsin Statutes to select finalists.
The Richland County Executive Finance Standing Committee met Feb. 24 and agreed to narrow the field of applicants for county administrator, discuss background checks and interview logistics, and enter a closed session under Wisconsin Statutes to consider finalist candidates.
Committee members heard from John (staff member), who said the county had prepared a PDF and several candidate videos and that "our goal tonight is that we narrow down the number of candidates to finalists." He told the committee some applicants had requested confidentiality and warned that if the pool fell to five or fewer candidates and there was a public request to release names, state law would require disclosure. "What's said in this room tonight stays in this room," John added, referring to the confidential handling of applications and video excerpts.
The committee discussed the schedule for interviews, with John saying interviews were planned for March and that, depending on the number of finalists, interviews could be completed in one day instead of a day and a half. He described a writing exercise used during past interviews and asked the committee to decide whether to include it for finalists. John also raised the question of whether the county would offer travel reimbursement to candidates invited to interview.
On the subject of background checks, John noted the sheriff's department has agreed to perform checks and recommended starting them as soon as finalists are identified rather than waiting until a single finalist is selected, because "things are getting very, very competitive in recruitments." He said early checks could reduce delays if candidates accept other positions in the interim.
After discussion, a motion to go into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes section 19.85(1)(c) — concerning employment, promotion, compensation and performance data of public employees — was made and seconded. The motion passed, and the committee entered closed session to select final county administrator candidates. There was no public action taken in closed session.
The committee later returned to open session with no formal actions reported from the closed session. Members set March 11 as the next meeting date and asked staff to circulate any future agenda items and logistics for interviews.
Votes at a glance: the committee approved the motion to enter closed session; the motion was moved by Glasspreneur and seconded by Carol and carried on an affirmative voice vote of those present. A motion to adjourn until March 11 was also made and approved.
