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| John Goffredo |
The Process.
At the April 4, 2024 meeting of Northampton County Council, President Lori Vargo Heffner announced the process by which a new council clerk would be selected to replace the retiring Linda Zembo. She said that the County was seeking applications and had advertised the position. She indicated the personnel committee would be meeting to review the applications received and conduct preliminary interviews. "Then when we're ready, we'll present the candidate to Council for a full vote." Council member Ken Kraft asked if an ad was being placed in a local daily. Vargo Heffner responded it was and that Human Resources was assisting. No other County Council member voiced a complaint about this process.
Subsequently, I obtained and provided a link to the application link to the application mentioned by Vargo-Heffner. All applications were due by April 10. After the due date, I reported that there were 22 applicants, only two of whom were county employees. None of the information that I had or reported on was in any way confidential, but it nevertheless infuriated some Council members who felt they were being kept out of the loop.
At the April 18 meeting, Council member Ken Kraft complained that Vargo-Heffner changed the job description without getting Council approval. She acknowledged doing so. Rather than starting over, Council member Ron Heckman suggested that Council just approve the changed job description retroactively. His motion passed 6-3. The three No votes came from Lamont McClure rubber stamps Kraft, Kelly Keagan and Jeff Warren. It was at this meeting that Kraft accused Vargo-Heffner of acting like she was Queen.
I know that the full Council met in executive session at least once since that time to discuss a "personnel matter." I presume it related to Zembo's replacement.
Finally, at the June 6 meeting last week, County Council voted 7-2 to select Aline Shafnisky to serve as "acting Clerk," and at a salary of $107,482 a year. The two No votes came from Warren and Kegan.
The debate.
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| Jeff Warren |
Warren: "I still have no idea what is happening in terms of hiring our Clerk."
Keagan: "I have had nothing. I've been told nothing. When I was in Forks Tp, we worked together. We talked about it. We did the whole thing together. I don't want to say I've been kept in the dark, I'm not blaming anybody. ... This process, I don't feel like I was included at all.
Kraft: "I'm pretty sure you guys had your meetings and have the votes. I don't know why you're appointing her as "acting." I don't know why you're doing this charade. It appears to me that you have the votes to just make her permanent.
John Goffredo: "I don't know if there's a conspiracy that I'm not aware of, but I'm pretty sure we're doing this because a lot of people had questions about the process, and the process is we're hiring a new clerk. We don't have a new clerk. Ms. Zembo is retiring today. There's two people over there who know the job, so one of them is going to take the job until we find a new clerk.
Warren: "It's a process situation."
Goffredo: "I know it. It starts today, with this vote."
Warren: "We should have started months ago." [Council did, on April 4, and with no objection. Warren is being disingenuous].
Goffredo: "That's a huge wage increase. ... I think it's too much. Giving it to her Acting could be a bigger mistake. ... We can make an amendment right now and say, 'Hey, I want it to be $85,000.' We can have that discussion. That's what we do here. Why are we pretending like we all decided this already. I was away on vacation last time. I called in on the phone, and I was like OK, good, we're going to talk about it later. Let's talk now. Let's stop pretending like there's a conspiracy going on."
Warren: "I'm not pretending there's a conspiracy, Mr. Goffredo. I'm not saying anything as such. This should have been done months ago, and there's a process situation that happened or didn't happen."
Goffredo: "Mr. Warren, you are one of nine. Your ideas are just as valuable as anyone else's. If you have a suggestion, make it."
Warren: "Mr. Goffredo, I didn't know that I was even able to make a suggestion about specifically what was going on with the hiring process because it was under my presumption that the President of Council was somehow taking care of this. We were only briefed on this very recently, within the past month. [Once again, this is nonsense. Goffredo was made aware of the process on April 6 and posed no objection. He was made aware on April 18 that Vargo-Heffner changed the job description and voted against accepting that change. He made no suggestions for improvement.]
Goffredo: "I was at the same meeting where Ms. Vargo-Heffner explained that she was trying to do her due diligence as President, working with Ms. Zembo, to interview a wide range, and if they narrowed it down, we'd get more people involved. It made sense to me logistically because I don't think it makes sense to bring nine of us in here in our spare time to interview 27 people. ... It seems like everything she does, she gets berated about. For what? We're trying to hire a clerk. Let's get a good Clerk--
Warren: "I have not berated our President one time in the six months I've been on Council -
Goffredo: "I disagree, and I don't want to argue."
Warren: "I take exception to that. I've been extremely respectful. [I recall no instance in which Warren publicly berated Vargo-Heffner. That's Kraft. Warren is more subtle.]
My own take.
Lori Vargo-Heffner should have kept all members of County Council in the loop throughout this process. She should have made sure they knew there were 22 applicants and who they were. She also screwed up when she made minor changes to the job description without previous Council approval.
On the other hand, Warren and Keegan were familiar with the process being followed from the onset, and could have demanded more transparency.
The salary is far too high, as it was for Zembo. It is actually a slap across the face of nearly every county worker. Goffredo said so yet failed to introduce an amendment to the resolution that would have reduced the salary.
Anyone who has known Warren for years knows he is one whacky guy. He was a reckless drinker with real anger issues. He still has crazy eyes and can barely restrain his angry outbursts. The guy is obviously under the direction of Kraft or McClure. He was probably ordered to muddy up Hefner. The guy hasn't even been in his newest government gig for six months and is already giving directions. He desperately wants to be powerful. What a tool.
ReplyDeleteLori Vargo Heffner has failed Leadership 101. She could not muster a majority to replace Tara Zrinski - a basic function assigned to Council by the Home Rule Charter. In further humiliation, the Court had to pick Tara’s replacement. She is an abject failure and should immediately resign.
ReplyDeleteThe real problem here is Ron Heckman. He’s legacy, which was a proud county government one, is about to be in tatters. He’s an unwell, bitter angry old man, and his exit from the public stage is going to be akin to King Lear’s.
ReplyDeleteReally? I've known Jeff since he was a volunteer on campaigns. He's a solid dude
ReplyDeleteWhat are the salaries of the politically appointed department heads? I'm guessing they are all higher.
ReplyDeleteLori Vargo-Haffner has failed a basic test of being County Council President. Linda Zembo announced months ago that she’d be retiring. She’s now retired. There’s still no Clerk. It’s a basic function of Council President to get a Clerk appointed. Her failure to gain consensus is because a member of her MAGA Majority, J.P., thinks the salary is too high. Otherwise Eileen would already be the Clerk.
ReplyDeleteWhen did Warren ever berate Vargo-Heffner? If Goffredo wants to make that accusation then he should provide a specific example/s. Maybe Goffredo thinks that berate means something other than it does. Maybe because you call him a rubber stamp he thinks berate means not cow taoing to her?
ReplyDeleteThe truth is Laurie Heffner presides over a Do-Nothing County Council. Here it is June and Norco County Council has accomplished nothing for the people. For shame. Laurie is bad at government.
ReplyDeleteNot only is Laurie a do nothing, but the rumor is that Gio spends every single day all day at the court house. What is he doing there all of his time? Certainly not county business because he does nothing and is called the quiet man. He probably should leave the office staff alone so they can do their work. Hmmm
DeleteNo one person has the right or authority to change a job description regardless where the position is located. This has to be accomplished by a vote of the entire council/commissioners. Doesn't anyone read the rules?
ReplyDeleteCouncil can make their own version of the movie Dumb and Dumber staring Warren and Keegan. Either could play the role of Dumb and Dumber. Both picked by McClure, so he can star in the movie as well and be called it Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest. McClure gets Dumbest for picking these two.
ReplyDelete"No one person has the right or authority to change a job description regardless where the position is located. This has to be accomplished by a vote of the entire council/commissioners. Doesn't anyone read the rules?"
ReplyDeleteYes, and the council did vote to change the description retroactively.
"When did Warren ever berate Vargo-Heffner?"
He has not and has no need to do so bc Ken Kraft does it all the time. Warren takes a passive-aggressive approach.
"What are the salaries of the politically appointed department heads? I'm guessing they are all higher."
Hey Shafnisky, a Clerk is NOT the equivalent of a department head until she reached the evel of experience that someone like Frank Flisser had.
" I've known Jeff since he was a volunteer on campaigns. He's a solid dude"
Too bad he could not be a volunteer for more noble causes. That's the problem with many politicians today as compared to yesteryear. Previously, most local pols were volunteers for service organizations. Now they carry bullhorns.
"Here it is June and Norco County Council has accomplished nothing for the people."
You could place some of the blame for that on LVH. You can also place some of the blame on McClure. It is his job to work with Council, not undermine LVH or anyone on Council or off who stands in his way. She is not a Queen and he is not a King.
Lori Vargo’s problem is she betrayed a majority of her Democratic colleagues on Council in favor of her MAGA buddies. Lori prefers the company Gio, J.P. and Brownie to Kraft, Warren and Keegan. This is why she can’t get anything done.
ReplyDeleteWrong ! Lori doesn’t want to get anything done. It’s the deal she made with her MAGA pals. They will obstruct McClure at every turn ahead of the ‘25 elections. Stupid, but that’s the plan.
ReplyDeleteNo, you really can’t blame Lamont. Lori is working with Rs to thwart his agenda. It’s plain as day.
ReplyDelete"Hey Shafnisky, a Clerk is NOT the equivalent of a department head until she reached the level of experience that someone like Frank Flisser had."
ReplyDeleteHey, don't disparage Frank by bringing him into this. Dude was a freakin' institution. A walking history of county politics. ALWAYS gave sober, realistic, non-partisan advice. When he dies, we need to preserve the brain, and re-animate it, and make him the Oracle of Northampton. write his brain into the home rule charter or something.
"He’s an unwell, bitter angry old man"
ReplyDeleteOn a board of stick up their asses' people, he is the only one who is human with a real sense \of humor.
I will take Ron to task, which is easy to do bc he talks a lot and that opens him up. He could learn a lesson or two from the Quiet Man, Tom Giovanni. But he's also a very good person who honestly cares about other people> He may be old but is far from a bitter or angry person. I have yet to understand why McClure's flunkies feel the need to attack him all the time. It is self-defeating.
ReplyDeleteThey attack him all the time because that’s the directive they get from their boss, McClure.
DeleteI’m looking forward to ridding LVH, Heckman, and the three turds in 2025. Let’s stop the obstruction and start getting things done. This board is only out to road block McClure so Brownstain can run, and just like Zrinski annihilated Cusuck, the Dems will do it again in 2025 with their new slate.
ReplyDeleteLori leads the obstructionists. Ron is her witting accomplice as he’s so desperately embittered by his own failures. His legacy will be one vile bile spewing. Frankly, he should resign.
ReplyDeleteannon 8:59, Yes how dare anyone not totally agree with the leader. They should be banished. You sound like the democrat version of MAGA and McClure is your Trump!
ReplyDeletePlease, get a grip on reality, whacko!
Of all the ridiculous comments I receive, This one is among the most absurd. You criticize LVH bc she is a part-time legislator and has to work. Then you criticize Giovanni bc he spends a lot of time at the courthouse. You also make the mistake of conflating silence with doing nothing. Still water runs deep. You make a serious mistake here in underestimating someone.
ReplyDelete