Commissioners approve hire and a one-day suspension amid disputes over process and discipline

The board approved two personnel actions on Oct. 2: hiring Nicholas Clark as a sewer line maintenance assistant in the Trumbull County Sanitary Engineers Department (effective Oct. 3, pay range 6 at $17.52/hour) and imposing a one-day unpaid suspension on a building maintenance employee following executive session.

Commissioner Frenchko repeatedly pressed staff for clearer hiring documentation and questioned why a veteran applicant who previously received an offer was not re-interviewed in the current hiring round; sanitary engineer staff said prior candidates had been offered work in earlier rounds but declined and that only one candidate was interviewed this cycle. Frenchko said she would abstain or vote no on the hire because the process lacked transparency and documentation. The motion to hire passed with other commissioners voting yes.

Separately, the board went into executive session under the statutory citation read on the record to consider discipline of a public employee in the building maintenance department. After reconvening, the board approved a one-day unpaid suspension to be served Oct. 3, 2024. Human Resources clarified on the record that comparable prior incidents were handled with the same disciplinary ranges and that the discipline given reflected the applicable policy ranges.

The record shows commissioners directed staff to supply additional hiring and ranking documentation when making future personnel decisions.