Citizens describe dream admin.

More than 30 Madison County citizens envisioned a new county administer to be a unifying force to work in what one attendee called “paradise.”

“The people of this county need to be brought together,” Hood resident Mary Breeden said at Monday’s public hearing on selecting a new administrator.

All current five members of the board of supervisors, as well as the two newly elected supervisors sat in the audience as the leader of the Richmond-based “head hunter” executive search firm took the reins of the meeting at the County Administration Center.

Springsted Incorporated Senior Vice President John Anzivino led the meeting by first telling the audience about his company and then eliciting what qualifications they would like in a county administer.

“I’ve done a number of these meetings and this is probably one of the most well-attended meetings that I’ve had – even for larger communities,” Anzivino said.

He said he has sat down with each of the current and newly elected supervisors one-on- one and asked them what they would like to see in a new county administrator.

Some attendees suggested the county shouldn’t have hired the recruiting company for a contract price of $12,000, plus an estimated “out-of-pocket expense” of $4,150, but should look for a candidate on their own. Others suggested it was a good way to save money in the long run by finding the right fit and a candidate that would stay a lengthy amount of time.

“Mountain Bill” Campbell of Lost Valley said he liked the process of hiring Springsted Incorporated.

“It will take the popularity contest out of the equation,” Campbell said. “It will take personal agendas out of the equation. And the old saying, ‘Pay me now. Pay me later.’ Twelve thousand dollars on the front end could save the citizenry and taxpayers a (heck) of a lot more in the next four or five years.”

Anzivino told the audience the process would take about three to four months and the county could see a new county administrator as soon as March 2012. Some question whether it is wise to move so quickly and suggested the county wait until the new board is chosen and a chairman is elected in the new year.   

Jim Ballard of Madison said, “My question is, wouldn’t we be far wiser to do the preliminary search after the new board is constituted and they take as long a time as they need to pick a chairman and let that new board give you direction before you start the screening process?”

Anzivino said they will discuss his idea with the board of supervisors.   

Haywood resident George Beker asked what the compensation for the new county administrator would be. Anzivino said they are doing a “compensation analysis.”

Beker said, “My suggestion should be that Madison start with compensation far lower than what the prior county administrator received because my guess is this world is filled with people if they are told about this wonderful county might be very grateful for a job for $75,000 or $80,000 (annual) base pay, rather than start where we were and simply spend more money and not test the market.”

Anzivino said he did not mean to be argumentative, but you diminish the pool of quality candidates if you go too low.

Beker rebutted, “Having gone to a lot of auctions you rarely start at the highest price.”

The outgoing county administrator, Lisa Robertson, made as of April 28, according to earlier Eagle reports, a base salary of $95,325, plus $26,736 in fringe benefits for a total yearly compensation of $122,061. However, her background was as an attorney, rather than government management.

There were many other comments that the citizens who attended would like to see someone in the job that not only works in Madison County but lives in the county.

Brightwood resident Bob Kane said, “We need someone who is in the grocery store, who goes to church here, who has kids at school.”

Kim Johnson-Smith of Brightwood gave a list of qualities she was looking for in a new county administrator. A few on her list were “honest and has integrity and a solid code of professional ethics.” She also said an advanced degree and an understanding of revenue streams would be helpful. She also wanted someone with the ability to say no with supporting rationale.

“The next county administrator should be able to work as much as is humanly possible to some level of consensus-building,” Johnson-Smith said.

Christopher Martino of Criglersville said he wanted someone with a good management background – a manager of money and people. He expressed his desire for someone with good communication skills.

Rochelle resident Tim Taylor wanted a new county administrator to be able to communicate with a diverse group of people.

“We need someone who can move amongst people,” Taylor said.

Haywood resident John Underwood asked Anzivino, “Are you a good salesman? One of the things when you are selling Madison County to those candidates and I can imagine you have a database with a couple sheets of names of people you have to point out and ask them how would you like to live in paradise? That’s your selling point.”

A few of the issues a new county administrator will have to deal with once they are accepted, according to the crowd is funding, procurement, establishing administrative discipline, accountability and taking a close look at the locations of the different county offices. Some priorities the new county administrator will face are the condition of the county buildings especially the schools said Dink Kreis of Madison. A new county administrator will have to look at managing the transfer station in Madison County, cross-services, growth and changing demographics and transparency. 

Some of the major duties of a county administer is to serve as clerk of the board, administer all affairs of the board, serves as purchasing agent, submit recommendations to the board, prepare and submit the county’s annual budget and represent the county at various meetings.

“This is a hands-on position in Madison County,” Anzivino said.

Springsted Incorporated will develop a community profile to help candidates get to know Madison County. It will be provided to the county for future use. They will develop a job description profile. It will be a national search by virtue of the Internet. They will screen and evaluate the applicants and do a background search and check Google and references. They will interview the candidates and come up with the top 10 candidates to be interviewed by the board of supervisors. Springsted Incorporated will arrange for the interviews to be set up and provide evaluation forms and even questions for the board of supervisors to ask candidates.

“I’m not going to select your next county administrator. I don’t live here in Madison County. But your board as your representatives will be doing that,” Anzivino said.

Springsted Incorporated has had an office in the commonwealth for more than 25 years, said Anzivino. Its home office is in St. Paul, Minn. It is a woman owned company. Anzivino is a former town manager and county administrator in Virginia. He has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Georgia. Springsted Incorporated has served Orange and Greene counties, the city of Charlottesville, as well as many other counties in Virginia.

The board of supervisors hasn’t approved the criteria yet, but Anzivino gave a sneak peak.

“We are looking for someone with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, this hasn’t been approved by the board yet, maybe a master’s (degree) preferred, with experience in local government. And it maybe someone who comes from a planning background, a strong finance background, it may be a deputy in another locality,” Anzivino said.