Hillsdale commissioners back restructuring of county facilities department and reclassification request

The Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners directed the personnel management committee to prepare job descriptions for a facilities administrator and a facilities coordinator and to return reclassification paperwork for an administrator role at a future meeting. The motion, made by the management/personnel committee and seconded, passed 4 to 1.

Commissioners and committee members said the county currently lacks both a facilities director and a deputy director and that routine operational duties have been carried out in practice by Deb Mesker. The proposal would eliminate the director position, create two working roles—one focused on administrative tasks and one on maintenance and operations—and apply a classification study to set pay. Commissioners said one intent is to formalize duties Mesker has been performing for roughly a year and to ensure appropriate compensation.

Opponents raised procedural and budgetary questions. One commissioner said the reclassification request had been turned down earlier in the year and expressed concern about bypassing internal posting rules and the county personnel handbook. Another said contracting out some technical work (for example HVAC repairs) could be more cost‑effective than restoring in‑house capacity. Supporters said immediate steps are necessary to ensure timely on‑call response for alarms and continuity of maintenance while the county hires or adjusts roles.

The board asked the personnel committee to return with completed job descriptions, scoring, and a recommended classification for Mesker at the next meeting so that any compensation adjustments could be considered during the budget process. The motion’s text and the vote were recorded in the meeting minutes.