Director of HR, dog warden are hired in Mahoning County
CANFIELD
The Mahoning County commissioners have hired a Troy, Ohio, woman as county human-resources director and a Youngstown lawyer as county dog warden.
The commissioners hired Rachel L. Livengood as human-resources director, effective May 17, at an annual salary of $67,500, during their Thursday meeting at the Canfield Township Hall.
Livengood started with the Ohio Department of Transportation in 1998 as a labor relations officer at the agency’s Sidney office and moved in 2007 to its Columbus headquarters, where the Kasich administration chose in January not to retain her, she said on her county job application.
Having received her bachelor’s degree in labor relations and human resources from Ohio State University, Livengood was ODOT’s deputy director of quality and human resources and then human capital manager in Columbus. She has 26 years of experience in public-sector human resources and labor relations.
“I have an established reputation with both employers and unions as being an innovative problem solver and a person devoted to collaboration and partnership between labor and management,” Livengood wrote to the commissioners in a letter accompanying her job application.
“She brings an outside perspective to the area,” said John A. McNally IV, chairman of the county commissioners. “The collective-bargaining agreements and the bargaining units and the faces will be new to her, but not the issues that an HR director deals with,” he added.
The HR job has been vacant since Susan Quimby resigned May 30, 2009, at a salary of $62,500 a year.
The commissioners hired Atty. Matt Ditchey as dog warden at $45,000 a year, effective May 9. Ditchey, who does arbitration work for his brother’s law firm in Cleveland, said he would keep his law license current, but work full-time as dog warden.
Ditchey is a board member and former board president of Angels for Animals. “I love dogs and cannot stand to see them suffer. I spend almost all of my free time doing volunteer work on behalf of animal welfare issues,” Ditchey said.
He said his goal will be to get all government and non-profit animal welfare agencies “to work together to benefit the animals in Mahoning County” and bring the dog pound’s euthanasia rate “as close to zero as possible.”
“That love of animals, that love of service for animals, comes through when you talk to him,” McNally said, adding that Ditchey is knowledgeable about the dog warden’s office and animal welfare issues.
Ditchey said Dave Nelson asked to return to his deputy dog-warden post and will remain as a deputy focusing on humane law-enforcement.
The commissioners received 47 applications for human resources director and 25 for dog warden.
The commissioners next meeting will be at 6 p.m. next Thursday at the Poland Township Hall, 3339 Dobbins Road.