Committee approves converting a senior administrative specialist into an HR specialist in sheriff’s office

The Administration Committee voted to abolish one Senior Administrative Specialist position and create one Human Resources Specialist position to be based in the Sheriff’s Office, with a joint reporting relationship to the county HR department.

Administrator Lance Leonard told the committee the change repurposes an existing FTE rather than increasing staff counts; the cost was budgeted within the 2025 personnel assumptions, so no budget amendment was required. The shift is intended to centralize HR‑adjacent work that departments — particularly the county’s largest department, the Sheriff’s Office — now undertake internally, such as recruitment, onboarding, training records, scheduling and state reporting for mandated training hours.

Deputy Melhausen (Sheriff’s Office) described frequent hiring, onboarding and state training reporting needs for about 200 employees and said staff who had other duties were being asked to handle HR tasks in addition to their core responsibilities. He and the administrator argued a colocated HR specialist would maintain continuity, improve compliance with state reporting (for example training records), and reduce operational strain on line supervisors.

Supervisor Marshall and other committee members asked about HR capacity and certifications; Leonard and HR staff said the new specialist will need HR training and that HR would help integrate the role. The administrator said implementation will require short‑term additional coordination while HR and the sheriff’s office align processes.

Chair Gibbs moved the ordinance amendment to abolish the Senior Administrative Specialist FTE and create the HR Specialist FTE and the committee approved the measure unanimously (motion seconded by Supervisor Marshall). The ordinance will move to the full county board for final consideration.