Maumee personnel committee votes to post HR manager opening; discusses administrator search and org-chart review

Maumee — The Maumee Personnel Committee voted to post a job opening for an HR manager and agreed to continue work on an administrator search and an updated organizational chart during follow-up meetings.

The committee approved the motion to post the HR manager position after discussion about whether to first complete a gap analysis or proceed with recruitment. "Yeah, I make a motion that we post the HR manager you know, job, opening as soon as we can," a committee member said before the motion was seconded and the vote recorded in favor.

Committee members said they will continue refining job descriptions, gather comparative wage data from nearby jurisdictions and consider doing an outside gap analysis of existing human-resources functions before finalizing longer-term structural changes.

Why it matters: committee members said an HR manager would centralize duties now distributed across multiple employees and could address recurring issues such as workers' compensation claims, onboarding, compliance and training. Committee members also said an updated org chart could clarify reporting lines and reduce duplicated work.

What the committee decided and discussed

Posting the HR manager position: The committee voted to post the HR manager opening immediately. The motion was made, seconded and then approved by roll call votes recorded as "Barrow — yes; Kurt — yes; Lineback — yes." The committee discussed nailing down job responsibilities but agreed a posting can proceed with the current draft and be refined during the hiring process.

Administrator search: Committee members reviewed a preliminary proposal from an executive search firm, identified in the meeting as Colin Vanzinger and Associates, which listed a fee described in the discussion as roughly "30 some thousand" dollars. No contract was signed; committee members said the packet was distributed for consideration and that other search avenues — including posting with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and using word-of-mouth in the professional network — remain options. One member asked for time to contact a potential local interim candidate before any firm were engaged.

Organizational chart review: Committee members examined draft org charts borrowed from comparable Ohio cities and flagged inconsistencies between job descriptions, charters and reporting lines in the draft. The committee asked administration and the law director to review the draft against the city charter and to return recommendations. Members discussed the potential for overlap and duplicate duties across departments and said a gap analysis or needs assessment — either internal or via a consulting firm — could help define necessary positions and reporting relationships.

Discussion details and context

Committee members emphasized two near-term steps: (1) post the HR manager position to begin attracting applicants and (2) continue refining job descriptions and the organizational chart, with another committee meeting planned within about two weeks. Members suggested posting locally and on professional sites such as ICMA, and running a four-week posting period was discussed as reasonable. Several members recommended compiling comparative wage data from nearby municipalities (Perrysburg, Sylvania, Oregon and Rossford were mentioned) to inform compensation.

Staffing and workload figures mentioned in the meeting: administration reported roughly 142 full-time employees and about 70 part-time employees (seasonal staffing increases for pool and recreation were noted). Members said HR duties currently are dispersed across roughly six staff members and that a centralized HR manager could absorb recruitment, benefits administration, compliance, training, onboarding and workers' compensation follow-up.

Quotes

"I just wanted to have something in hand here," the personnel committee chair said when introducing initial materials on the administrator search and other agenda items.

Advocates for an external review urged a structured assessment: "a gap analysis or an audit to see where we're at right now," one council member said, arguing a third-party review can clarify what work is already being done and what remains to be assigned.

Next steps and outlook

The committee directed administration to finalize revised job descriptions, collect local wage comparisons and return to the committee with suggested edits and a timeline. The committee plans to reconvene in roughly two weeks to revisit the organizational chart and HR job description; members said hiring an HR manager could take several weeks once the posting closes. No final decisions were made on retaining an executive search firm for the administrator search; that item remains under consideration.