Last week, Northampton County Council voted to confirm Deb Watlington, a CPA with 30 years of accounting experience, as the county's new Fiscal Director. But they did so at a lower starting salary - $109,632 - than the $125,108 proposed by Executive Tara Zrinski. Council members Ken Kraft, Kelly Keegan, Jason Boulette, and Jeff Warren were more than happy with a higher salary for what would have been the county's first Fiscal Director with a CPA.
The final vote to confirm Watlington at the lower salary of $109,632 was approved by Council members Lori Vargo Heffner, Tom Giovanni, Ken Kraft, Dave Holland, Jason Boulette and Theresa Fadem.
Council member Qayyum was opposed to hiring Watlington at any salary.
County Solicitor Melissa Rudas had argued that the Executive has the authority to hire at a higher rate, but my reading of the Career Service Regulations (which could be incorrect) limits the Executive's authority to raise anyone's salary to only one step. Council approval is needed for anything higher.
In a comment published on this blog, Council member Kelly Keegan warned that this could happen. She stated,
Northampton County has gone months without a Fiscal Director, one of the most critical financial positions in county government. We've struggled to attract qualified candidates because the salary simply isn't competitive. Potential candidates have declined interviews or withdrawn from consideration because they could earn significantly more elsewhere.
Then, after an extensive search, we finally found a highly qualified candidate willing to leave her current position and take a pay cut to serve Northampton County. Instead of welcoming her and recognizing the sacrifice she was making, Council chose to amend the resolution and reduce her starting salary from Step 3 to Step 1.
Think about the message that sends.
We complain that we can't find qualified people. We acknowledge that the private sector and neighboring organizations pay more. We finally find someone willing to come here anyway, and then we decide to pay her even less?!
This wasn't fiscal responsibility. The difference in salary is negligible in a multi-million-dollar county budget. What isn't negligible is the cost of leaving a key financial leadership position vacant, delaying projects, overburdening existing staff, and creating instability in county government.
The question taxpayers should be asking is simple: Are we trying to recruit and retain talented professionals, or are we making political points at the expense of effective government?
Actions have consequences. If this candidate walks away, Northampton County will once again be searching for a Fiscal Director while wondering why qualified applicants aren't lining up for the job.
I believe that Watlington should have been hired at the higher rate requested by Zrinski. In pushing this hire down to the low rung on the pay scale, a majority of County Council allowed the perfect to be the enemy of the good. Watlington may have had no specific experience with county government. But she has 30 years of accounting experience and is a CPA and would be part of an office that is already very talented. County Council should reconsider what really was a mistake if Watlington is still willing to serve.
30 comments:
All county employee salaries should be increased and all vacancies should be filled. McClure never filled any vacancies and most departments are short handed. When was the last time any county executive visited the offices in the court house, the prison or Gracedale? McClure lowered taxes one year and never increased taxes in his remaining term, by doing that he thought he would win the congressional seat. Tara has to bite the bullet and raise taxes. The turnover in these offices is tremendous. The study that the county paid for to determine if wages should increase was flawed. Take neighboring Lehigh County, they pay higher wages in every department. Good luck Tara, you will have your hand full straightening out this mess.
This is exactly why the 911 Center is without an Operations Director and the job is posted yet again (at least the third time). The salary is too low to bring in the qualified candidates needed for this critical job, and we are going to end up with someone unqualified and apathetic at the current rate offered.
Norco council once again proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are nothing but petty political misfits. Why would any professional in any career want to work in such a dysfunctional atmosphere?
Kudus to KK for displaying intelligence and common sense - flowers that do not usually grow in norco council's garden
Smart decision. Perhaps we don't need 30 years of experience (and an expectation of a higher salary). I'm certain there are many qualified candidates who would love the opportunity and be willing to accept at a lower salary. Nobody expects quality personnel in county government. I suspect the candidate was friends or somehow connected with Zrinski. She should do her job and not find a pricey hack to do it for her.
7:03, As strange comments go, this is one of the strangest. We should reject a CPA with 30 yrs accounting experience because we could pick a hack instead? Because Zrinski might know her? Are you out of your mind. You are full of hate. The best interest of the county should guide every decision, and you are obviously guided by hate.
That statement Keegan wrote could be used for every open county position and every current county employee. McClure wanted to look like a hero to tax payers by not raising taxes. And the tax payer didn't realize they were just kicking the can down the road. Lamont did he just left the van there for Tara but she has nowhere to kick it . It's against the wall..
So all you McClure lovers here comes your tax hike.. Sad part is Tara was there for all this and knew it. And still took the job
Did Sultana Proxy Qayyum give a reason why his wife was opposed to the hire?
Deb Watlington dodged a bullet here. The astronauts who voted down her salary would be the same genius bench that would torture her month after month. For those who are credentialed and accomplished in their careers, $125K is not a lot of money. The fact that she was taking a pay cut of any kind to serve her community speaks volumes over the ridiculous mandate that she have "government" experience. Finance is finance, government isn't some magical place where mystical spells are cast.
Lori Vargo Heffner strikes again. This latest controversy appears to have little to do with protecting taxpayers and everything to do with demanding that county officials come before Council and ask permission—even when the Home Rule Charter makes clear that no such permission is required.
The County Executive didn't bring the fiscalk director's Step 3 placement to Council because she didn't have to. The authority already exists in the charter. Yet Heffner's reaction suggests that the real offense wasn't violating any rule; it was failing to pay homage to Council first.
At some point, this pattern becomes impossible to ignore. If an action is legal, authorized, and within the executive's authority, why manufacture a fight over it? The answer seems increasingly obvious: if county officials don't kiss the ring, Heffner is willing to obstruct, delay, and create unnecessary conflict, even when it comes at the county's expense.
How many times have we seen this movie before? Disagreements over policy are one thing. Personal vendettas dressed up as oversight are something else entirely. County government should be focused on serving residents, not settling scores.
This is what is currently happening in Lower Saucon Township. They haven't had a full time Township Manager in a couple years. They can't attact qualified candidates for several reasons and this current council is spending money like it grows on trees on personal pet projects.
Most recently, Priscilla Deleon tried to ram through a 1.5 million expenditure for the Lower Saucon Barn Ruins (owned by the Hisorical Society not the Township) without going through proper channels. There was no EAS recommendation or Park and Rec vote for a Pavillion at this site. This is her typical bullying of her way to extort Township money for her Historical friends' projects.
Thank goodness those new Council members pushed back on this expenditure. Yet, they are continuing to spend outrageous amounts of money on attorney fees to fight the Landfill and paying a per diem rate for a manager who's there part time.
I personally was shocked that this person even would consider leaving her present position. Perhaps it was not the money but rather the present chaotic public presence of Northampton County that has encouraged this candidate to stay in her present position, The saying, “Run, save yourself “ comes to mind. Smart gal.
What an out of touch council. A CPA with 30 years of experience at 125K is a bargain. Council should not complain at all about how they are not getting timely or concise financials when they do something like this.
Norco has always been on the very low end of paying positions. People with same job in Lehigh get significantly more. It’s been that way for ages.
And yet a CPA took the Controller job for 85K?
TZ lacks the experience to exercise leadership.
How about the half of the county that doesn't like Tara or Lamont? Don't be so naive. I suspect you're a net taker and not a contributor. Half of us can't stand Tara, Lamont, or wasting money. Keeping Gracedale open is kicking (and kicking, and kicking, and kicking) the can down the road over an emotional attachment that abuses our elderly. Come up with a new script. And you're welcome for my tax money.
She didn’t write it. Someone else did it for her.
Yes, and at a lower salary than he was earning. He is highly qualified and doing a good job.
Nobody was going to take that job permanently during the years of crazy antics by two Republican members of council.
The captain spot at the jail no one wants!!!
I'll invite you over while I write my next comment for you to watch over me if you'd like.
TZ said she cant give raises or approve the 15 holidays she gave the courthouse to Gracedale but thats a LIE thats what a MOU is for ..
Kelly, I have no doubt that you can write and speak for yourself. If you could drop the partisanship and engage other Council members without rancor, you could be a lot more productive than you have been. Also, while I agree that the executive branch is in charge of administration, you do and should exercise oversight. On this issue, I am in total agreement with you. But Council members who felt and voted differently are not your enemy. They are doing their job, just as you do yours.
Everyone in the county is underpaid and it's causing massive staffing issues. People leave for better paying jobs and a better work environment. Then it takes forever for them to even post a job, much less fill it. Some departments are at half the recommended staffing levels because even if they post the job, the process is so tedious that anyone who would even apply finds something else before the county interviews, tests, or hires them.
I knew someone would finally get Kelly to identify herself. Good job!
The place is a clown car.
I appreciate your comments, but I think they overlook a significant part of the reality I've experienced since the day I was elected.
From the very beginning, I was labeled a "rubber stamp," told I couldn't think for myself, and pressured about how I should vote. I was publicly criticized and shamed almost immediately. Yet every vote I have cast—from Paul Anthony, to the parking garage, to Dixie, to the Fiscal Director—was my vote. Every single one. I made those decisions independently and based on what I believed was in the best interest of this county and especially the residents of my district.
As for being productive, I've spent years watching obstruction disguised as governance. I've watched Lori Vargo Heffner intentionally and vindictively work to block initiatives and create division far more often than I was ever accused of being a "rubber stamp." The suggestion that I should simply "play nice" with people who consistently treated me with disrespect misses the point entirely. I chose not to engage in those games.
And regarding rancor(great word btw)—have I approached this new Council with hostility? I don't believe I have. I have focused on doing my job, representing my district, and advocating for what I believe is right. Passionately? Absolutely. Directly? Yes. But I have not allowed personal grievances to dictate my conduct.
I was elected to represent the people of this county, not to seek approval from other Council members. I won't be intimidated, pressured, or bullied into changing my positions. Nor do I feel obligated to negotiate principles that I believe serve the best interests of the county.
If other Council members choose to follow Lori's lead and continue obstructing good work, that is their decision and their responsibility. It certainly isn't mine.
Kelly, I think that being blind is a tragedy, but what is worse is being blind and not knowing it. That is what has defined you as a Council member. You think all of your votes are your own votes but feel to grasp that you have been little more than a useful idiot to the executive branch. No one is suggesting that you do the tango with other council members, but I do believe that you owe them the same respect you give the executive branch. You have used TikTok, Facebook and personal text messages to vilify others simply because they voted differently. You actively worked against Lori Vargo Heffner, who turned out to be the highest vote getter. You got into confrontations unnecessarily with Rs on Forks Tp Days. You have walked by homes and complained on TikTok about their first amendment right to post signs. You have suggested that employees should refrain from reporting perceived violations at Gracedale. You publicly displayed an appalling lack of empathy for the family of a man who was assassinated simply because his own views were somewhat out there. You danced on the grave of one of your own constituents merely because he dared to criticize you and questioned your use of social media on work time. At a time when Gracedale is being flooded with agency nurses because of a lack of manpower, you argued that Gracedale nurses are already paid enough. You have taken a "my way or the highway" approach to government, and that is simply not how a democratic form of government should work. I could go through individual votes and quote some of the divisive remarks you have made. Some of your resolutions were actually designed to create division at a time when we need to be listening to each other. In many ways, you are as bad as a Trump cult follower, but you just don't see it. Be better.
Apparently I'm pretty busy!!
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