Officials: Administrator not needed

The commissioners’ clerk
has the title of interim
administrator.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — Just over a year after Trumbull County Administrator Tony Carson Jr. abruptly resigned, and two months after a national search for his replacement was reduced to five finalists, commissioners have discontinued their search.

The commissioners are content to run the county without one, said Commissioner Frank Fuda.

“For right now, we’re not going to rush to select an administrator,” Fuda said.

Commissioners began advertising for a replacement for Carson last year and impaneled a citizens committee to review the résumés turned in by 55 individuals who applied for the job and reduce the number to about 10.

Recently, the commissioners offered the job to David Hannan Jr., chief of staff of the 11-member Summit County Council, the only county in the state with this type of county government.

But Hannan also had a job offer in Columbus and turned down Trumbull County, Fuda said.

Since then, the commissioners have considered offering the position to one of the four remaining candidates, but they could not reach a consensus on which one, Fuda said.

The four remaining candidates are Gary Engstrom, current director of the county’s Office of Elderly Affairs; Rocky Riviella, controller for the county engineer’s department; Thomas Grabarczyk of Sylvania, Ohio, president of Labor Relations Management Inc.; and Edward Ryan Jr., town manager of Cheswold, Del., and a county native.

What was decided

Though the four are “quality applicants,” none of the four had the support of all three commissioners, Fuda said.

Hannan was offered the job because he would have “brought something to the county that we didn’t have,” Fuda said, noting experience in directing an innovative type of government structure, the ability to get things done and the ability to get along with everyone.

“They loved him there,” Fuda said, adding that he talked to all 11 members of the county council, plus the judges and other county officials. “They hated to lose him.”

Fuda said he believes county government is “moving in a positive direction” without a full-time county administrator because the commissioners are getting cooperation from all of the county departments, having productive discussions with local legislators, and getting things done.

He pointed, for example, to improved relations with the county health department and the improved septic regulations approved recently that will save residents money.

To justify hiring someone as county administrator, he or she would have to be worth the $80,000 to $100,000 he would earn per year, Fuda said.

“We don’t want to spend money just to spend money. Those days are over,” he said.

Paulette Godfrey, the commissioners clerk, received a pay increase last year and was given the title of interim county administrator and asked to handle some of Carson’s former responsibilities.

runyan@vindy.com