You Want To Do What? City Should Thoroughly Consider HR Deal With County

If you've lived in Marinette County for more than two decades, as I have, and you've been paying attention, you will know that the county has experienced a myriad of personnel issues.

High turnover at the top, at least two terminations for wrongdoing, many abrupt resignations, and a number of other difficulties. Some of these problems are normal in any large organization. They occur in small organizations, too.

But seven county administrators in 17 years? (I've lost track of Menominee County's, but I'm guessing the number is similar.)

It would be perfectly normal to assume there might be some organizational issues at play. Training is often one of them. Information sharing could be another. Employees need to clearly understand what is expected of them, and much is expected of government workers. They work for us and they must be held to the highest standards of honesty, accountability and transparency.

Two words matter here: Taxpayer money.

According to the lead story in today's EagleHerald, Marinette County is now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor. The investigation is the result of an unknown complaint. Whether or not the complaint is based in fact will be determined by investigators. It's probably not related to the issues noted above, but it raises another red flag.

At this point, the complaint could be based in reality. The problem reported be a simple oversight, or it could be based on ignorance, or even malice. Of, course the complaint could be, too. It might be a minor problem, or it could be a major issue.

We just don't know.

Farther down the front page, we learn that the city of Marinette may contract with the county to provide human resources services, an arrangement that has been discussed in the past. The county would be charged with ensuring city practices are compliant with employment laws.

In theory, it's a reasonable idea. In practice, I'm not so sure.

Let's hope the city takes time to conduct its due diligence before signing any contracts. City officials need to make sure county practices are compliant before they finalize the deal.