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County counsel summarizes Pine Valley investigation; officials say staffing, costs and operations have improved
Summary
Corporation counsel summarized a public version of an investigation into Pine Valley operations, citing managerial and cultural problems; an interim administrator is in place, staffing has improved and temporary staffing costs in 2023 were roughly $750,000.
Corporation Counsel Wendle told the Richland County Board that an investigation triggered by an employee complaint found managerial, cultural and operational hindrances at Pine Valley. He said the county published a public version of the report and has installed an interim administrator.
Wendle said the facility is now nearly fully staffed and that the county has seen an “almost 100% reduction” in use of temporary staff, which had cost the county about $750,000 in 2023. He added that the budget outlook for 2025 ‘‘looks very good’’ for Pine Valley as staffing stabilizes.
Wendle also said a former Pine Valley administrator was arrested after leaving county employment on charges the county summarized as making false reports and fabricating threats; Wendle said those behaviors were not known during the former administrator’s employment and that the arrests occurred after departure.
County staff also emphasized limits on what could be discussed about personnel in open session. Wendle said the county would continue to oversee Pine Valley operations and monitor hiring and scheduling metrics; officials characterized recent operational changes as positive and focused on reducing expensive temporary staffing.
Next steps: county staff will continue to report operational metrics to the board and monitor implementation of staffing and scheduling improvements. Residents were invited to direct personnel-specific questions to county staff outside the public meeting to protect privacy and comply with personnel rules.
