There’s plenty of changes ahead for Mower County administration.

With Mower County Coordinator Craig Oscarson’s pending retirement approaching on Sept. 28 after 33 years of serving the county, the Mower County Board has approved to move ahead with searching for his replacement. However, the position would no longer be known as a county coordinator, rather, a county administrator.

During Tuesday afternoon’s board meeting, Gary Weiers, the management consultant from David Drown Associates Company who worked with Mower County on executive search process, had asked county commissioners for their approval on the position profile, job description, salary range and timeline, as well as answer any questions before officially posting the job online, which was expected to be open for applications starting today.

One of those changes included changing the role of county coordinator to county administrator. Weiers stated the position had evolved over three decades that made it fit more closely with the description of county administrator.

“The time to make that change is now,” Weiers told the Mower County Board. “This is actually the perfect time to make that transition.”

The application period was expected to last about four weeks, and possibly involve short video interviews and an applicant filling out a personality index before county commissioners narrow down the candidate field. One of the bigger changes to the position would involve the title change, shifting from county coordinator to county administrator.

Although the position description may seem irrelevant, there are differences between what a coordinator and an administrator do:

County coordinator

A county coordinator serves the county board and his or her employment may be terminated without notice and is considered a department head, according to the Minnesota Association of County Administrators (MACA). They have more limited statutory duties and responsibilities than a county administrator.

They manage county affairs, examine each department’s books, office and county agency under the county board and report conditions to the board. They can also submit recommendations concerning county affairs and oversee that all orders, resolutions and regulations of the board are executed.

A coordinator can also initiate and present the proposed budget to the county board for review and consideration and acts as a clerk to the county board.

County Administrator

Mower County’s shift from county coordinator to administrator would change several things in the job description. An administrator is appointed for an indefinite term and can also be removed by the county board at any time. An administrator can demand written charges and a public hearing on charges before the county board after one year, according to MACA.

MACA also stated that the county administrator is the administrative head of the county, and “can exercise general supervision over all county institutions and agencies with the approval of the county board, coordinate several activities of the county and unify the management of its affairs.”

The new administrator can act as any department head, and has the authority to hire personnel (with board approval), execute ordinances, resolutions and orders of the board. The new administrator could also appoint, suspend and remove county personnel with county board approval.

Changes ahead

Under the change, the new county administrator would have a salary range between $107,673 to $145,358, while the county coordinator’s salary range was between $84,658 to $114,167.

Final interviews could be finished in a day or two days, depending on what Mower County Board decides to include in the interviewing process, according to Weiers. Some of those options for the final round of interviews could include: a county tour, individual interviews with each board member, community meet and greet events, full board-formal interview, leadership staff interview, and lunch with leadership staff and board.