Pennington County approves promotions in state's attorney's office after debate over overlap pay

The Pennington County Board of Commissioners voted 3 to 2 to approve personnel actions that will promote Adam Schiffermiller to civil chief deputy in the State's Attorney's Office and move Tyler Sobezak into an assistant chief deputy role.

State's Attorney Laura (first name used in the record) introduced the changes, saying she had selected Schiffermiller to succeed long-time civil chief deputy Jay Alderman, who will retire in June. She told the board that Schiffermiller has worked in the office for about nine years and that both Schiffermiller and Sobezak will carry significant responsibilities during the transition.

"He's been doing everything for a while," Laura said of Schiffermiller, and when asked about budget impact she said plainly, "I have the money to pay for it." She also told commissioners the office had budgeted retirement payouts and could absorb short-term overlap costs.

Several commissioners pressed for consistency and clarity in county-wide personnel policy. One commissioner said the board should avoid approving dual pay periods unless there is a clear policy in place; another noted the county is trying to move to budgeting by position counts and asked whether the promotions ought to wait until the incumbent officially leaves. Commissioners also asked staff to confirm exact dollar impacts; finance staff estimated the three-month overlap would cost roughly $3,000 and Schiffermiller's interim compensation for three months about $1,200 as discussed by the office.

Despite those concerns, the motion to approve the personnel item on the consent agenda (moved from the floor) carried by a 3'to' 2 vote. The board recorded that Tyler's formal promotion paperwork still needed final HR processing and noted the promotion will appear on a future consent agenda for formal documentation.

The vote concluded a broader conversation at the meeting about how the county will track job descriptions, FTE counts and succession planning; commissioners asked county HR to standardize personnel reporting so the board has clearer visibility when promotions or overlapping staffing occur.

What happens next: the State's Attorney's Office will finalize HR paperwork for Sobezak and Schiffermiller; the board asked staff to provide the precise budget line items and any reimbursements or offsets for the next meeting.