Supervisors develop hiring panel for engineer

All three Jasper County supervisors will have a say in who will be the next county engineer and have created a hiring panel consisting of themselves, the human resources director and the maintenance superintendent to determine who will be the best applicant for the job.

Jasper County Supervisor Brandon Talsma recommended Randy Freese, the maintenance superintendent of the county engineer’s office, be included in the hiring panel because of his 20-plus years of experience working with multiple engineers. Freese also knows the region and the day-to-day happenings.

If need be, the board of supervisors may ask Marshall County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt — who is currently overseeing Jasper’s engineering — to provide insight. However, this idea did not sit well with one supervisor: Denny Carpenter, who worked for the county engineer’s office prior to being elected to the board.

“You know I’ve been through this one other time, and we don’t have to make this damn thing difficult,” Carpenter told his fellow supervisors. “I think the three of us should interview the person and Randy Freese should be there — and that’s it (for) the interview process.

“And as far as having Paul Geilenfeldt in here making comments on this and that and the other. One of those applicants could be a friend of his. Guess who he’s going to support? That’s why I have a problem with him being in on this process. If we can’t make a decision, what in the hell are we doing sitting up here?”

Talsma reasoned Geilenfeldt doesn’t need to give supervisors his opinion on applicants but would rather serve as an advisory or fact-checker, of sorts.

“He’s the only one who’s also a qualified civil engineer who can make sure somebody’s not trying to ‘BS’ their technical questions,” Talsma said.

Still, Carpenter remained firm that Freese be the only other person involved in the interviewing process. Doug Cupples, chair of the board of supervisors, proposed information be vetted through Geilenfeldt to verify information.

“I’m not opposed to having Paul here just because he is an engineer and has been for several years,” Cupples said.

Instead of involving Geilenfeldt in the interview process, Jasper County Human Resources Director Dennis Simon said he could share application and resume information for feedback. Talsma was OK with both options, clarifying he could be part of the panel as an observer.

Jasper County Human Resources Director Dennis Simon told supervisors the position has already been posted online. Cupples stressed the importance of having an engineer and wants the county to do its due diligence when narrowing down a candidate.

Cupples recommended all the supervisors be involved in the hiring process. Jasper County Auditor Dennis Parrott confirmed it takes all three supervisors to legally hire the new county engineer and should be present in the interviewing process. The board, Parrott said, will be largely guided by Simon.

Resumes and applications will be provided to the supervisors by the county’s human resources director. Jasper County does not have to wait until the posting closes to start scheduling interviews. Simon recommended the supervisors provide him with responses when applications are coming in.

According to data collected by the Iowa Department of Transportation in 2019, the turnover rate of county engineers has been approximately five to 10 per year. The engineer position is “one of the most important” in the county, IDOT said, since secondary roads are generally the largest item on the budget.

“Selecting a qualified county engineer is important since this position will be very visible to the public,” IDOT said in its 2019 guide for hiring a county engineer. “… The county engineer position is unique because the board assigns a professional to have the responsibility of a department.”

By contrast, most other officials in the county — the treasurer, recorder, sheriff, attorney — are elected by the people.

IDOT advises boards establish a set of guidelines for themselves — how many candidates they plan to interview, timeframes to advertise or interview, etc. — about the hiring process, that way all supervisors are aware of how the hiring will be executed. For instance, supervisors could interview every applicant.

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” Simon told the board, adding that he typically compiles a spreadsheet to compare each applicant’s years of service, education and other useful information. “… You’re not obligated to interview every person. That’s a choice. You just need to be able to explain that to me.”

Parrott recalled what the hiring process was like the last time the county was in need of a new engineer. The human resources director did all the leg work to find applicants and gave a list to the board. Each board member is equal, so if one wanted to interview an applicant, they did.

Carpenter said when the board was about to hire Jim Christensen, all three supervisors drove in separate cars and went to the county where he was working in before Jasper. Supervisors spoke to the public out in the rural area about their county’s secondary roads department and if they experienced any problems.

Simon agreed it’s important that supervisors do that sort of thing.

“Same way with the fertilizer places, coffee shops, feed stores — where your farmers, your rural (people) congregate — you can get some pretty honest, almost brutal, feedback on the quality of your roads and maintenance and stuff,” Simon said.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com