Power Grab! County Coordinator Plans Move To CEO
July 2nd, 2006 | by christine |Power Grab! County Coordinator Plans Move To CEO
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
–Second Witch, Macbeth
Shiawassee County Coordinator Margaret McAvoy is said to be the real decision maker behind the County Board of Commissioners. She moves money between funds to pay the bills. She directs the commissioners and the prosecutor on how to handle the political and legal matters. She even screened the resumes for the position of Deputy Drain Commissioner.
Under Margaret McAvoy, the position of County Coordinator has expanded from an administrative position to a political position, and the budget for that office has also expanded, by nearly $30,000 during her tenure. 1
Margaret’s first contract as County Coordinator expired on March 22 of this year, and she is currently operating under an extension. Based on current negotiations, it seems that Margaret isn’t content with her de facto powers as Coordinator … she wants more, starting with a shiny new title.
Allegedly, the proposed contract would grant Margaret McAvoy the title (and presumably the position) of County CEO. In addition to the title, she has also asked for an annual salary increase from $65,591 to $77,500 (18%), and a 3 year contract. Based on her previous time as an employee of the county,2 she receives 20 days paid vacation. In the new contract, she is asking for 5 more vacation days, 6 personal days, and 12 sick days, bringing her to a total 43 days paid for no work, with a cash payout if she does not take the time off. She is also asking for a $500 a month vehicle allowance, which comes to a healthy $6.000 per year.
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
–Three Witches, Macbeth
The median income per Shiawassee household is $42,553. Of our nearly 27,000 households, approximately 10% have single mothers and another 9% are people over the age of 65 who live alone. Over 1/3 of our minors and more than half of our seniors are below the poverty line.3
Oh yeah, and we just lost another 115 automotive related jobs. 4
Can Shiawassee afford Margaret McAvoy? And can we afford to hire a coordinator to replace Margaret, when she ascends to CEO? And if this arrangement is all good, why the big hush hush about it at the county government level?
I am going to FOIA a copy of the contract. I will publish the results of my FOIA here on christinebarry.com. Until then, I do not have the documents to support the information about the proposed contract.
Commissioners Capitan and Fuja are negotiating this contract with Margaret. The next county board meeting is on July 25, at 4pm. You can attend this meeting and express your opinion on this or any other issue. You can also call the commissioner’s office at 743-2233.
12006 Shiawassee County Budget
2Although she is still operating under an extension of her first contract as County Coordinator, Margaret is not new to County government. She was employed by the county from January 5, 1977 - March 8, 1997. She left the county position as a result of the elimination of the Employment and Training Department by operation of the Workforce Investment Act.
3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiawassee_County,_Michigan
4Another Owosso Factory Closing
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