DeWitt County finance committee creates full-time administrative assistant post to help county administrator

The DeWitt County Finance Committee voted Jan. 21, 2025 to create a full-time administrative assistant to the county administrator, a change members said would allow a staffer to learn the administrator’s duties and provide continuity when the current administrator retires. The motion to create the position was moved by Terry Ferguson and seconded by Jamie Prestegaard; the minutes record a voice vote and that the motion carried.

County Administrator Dee Rentmeister told the committee the new position would assist the administrator: "it was similar in that this position would assist the administrator." Committee members discussed whether the job description duplicated the county administrator’s duties; Claro Carter asked specifically whether the proposed assistant job description was similar to the county administrator’s. Rentmeister retrieved the county administrator’s job description for review; members concluded it had not been reviewed or updated for some time and agreed to work on revisions at the next meeting.

Committee members framed the change as both an operational and succession-planning move: members said a full-time assistant could receive training and potentially move into the administrator role in the future. The committee recorded no public comment on the item. The committee listed the creation of the full-time administrative assistant among its actions and will revisit and update the county administrator job description at its February meeting.