Veterans affairs could have a qualified applicant for new director by February

Applications for the new director or administrator of the Jasper County Veterans Affairs department have been submitted to commissioners for review. If all goes well with the selection committee’s interview process in the next two weeks, it is possible a candidate will be recommended for commission approval in February.

Dennis Simon, director of human resources for Jasper County, said he has been sending applications to all five members of the veterans affairs commission ever since the position was posted. The department is in need of a new department head after the firing of former Veterans Affairs Administrator Alyssa Wilson.

The deadline for applications was Jan. 10. Two days prior to the deadline, the county had received about 15 applications so far.

Members of the steering committee were selected during the Jan. 8 veterans affairs commission meeting. In addition to Simon serving on the committee as an advisor, the commission chose Mike Gunsaulus, Supervisor Brandon Talsma and commissioners Marta Ford and Ed Spangenburg to conduct the interviews.

Simon encouraged commissioners to send him their questions about individual candidates so that their input can be provided in the interview process. However, to avoid a quorum and possible violations to open meetings laws, it was decided that only two commissioners can serve on the committee.

Prior to the interview process, Simon recommended commissioners provide him and the committee an unranked list of their top five applicants. From there, the committee will decipher who to interview, giving special attention to overlapping names that appear on commissioners’ top-five lists.

“Once the interviews are done, the selection committee will discuss and debate and we will make a recommendation to the commission on who to hire,” he said. “Obviously, you have the applications so if there is something you disagree with you can direct us to do additional interviews if you’re not happy or whatever.”

Ultimately, the decision to hire a new administrator or director comes down to the approval of the Jasper County Board of Supervisors.

“The board can approve it easy enough or they can say no and send us back to the drawing board,” Simon said. “That’s why I want one of the supervisors on the selection committee. So if they’re in agreement and would make that recommendation, the chances of it getting denied is minimal.”

The next Jasper County Veterans Affairs meeting will be held at 3 p.m. Feb. 12 at the county’s administration building at 315 W. Third St. N.