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Strom gives view of county administrator post

ESCANABA — Delta County Prosecutor Philip Strom, who has been officially recommended to be the county’s new administrator, spoke about his goals for the county and several other topics during an interview for the position Monday. This interview took place during a Delta County Committee of the Whole Meeting.

Last month, current Delta County Administrator Ryan Bergman announced he had accepted another job and will be leaving this post. Bergman will have held the position for almost three years when he leaves on April 20.

In an earlier committee of the whole meeting, a decision was made to post the job description for the position of Delta County administrator internally through April 3, and to either interview internal candidates or post the job externally after this point. Strom was the only internal applicant for this position.

The interview began with a question on whether Strom was interested in transferring from his current position to become county administrator. He said he was, noting that he has been impressed with Bergman’s accomplishments as Delta County’s administrator and that increased his interest in the position.

Strom also said that working in this position would allow him to enter a new role that plays to his strong suits while giving him an opportunity to continue serving the county.

“I’m not unsatisfied in the prosecutor’s office, but sometimes … professional opportunities open up and they just make sense at the given time, and you can’t really let it pass you by if that’s something that you’re interested in,” he said.

In response to a question about his vision for the county in the next five years, Strom said he hopes to increase security at the Delta County Courthouse and focus on addressing mental health-related issues.

“My priorities have always been public health and community safety, and I think that the county has to keep those things in mind, as well,” he said.

Strom said the project that would be his highest short-term priority as the county’s administrator would be the completion of the new Delta County Correctional Facility.

“We’ve got so much invested in that — not just financially, but community trust-wise — that, if we don’t continue to be responsible with that project and things go wrong, it’s (going to) be a nightmare,” he said. He would also highly prioritize the continued support of efforts to establish a child advocacy center in Escanaba and the finalization of a budget for the county’s 2018-2019 fiscal year.

Strom was asked about how he plans to deal with projected increases in pension costs, as well. He said he would like to work with Bergman on this before his departure.

“If we can hit the ground running on the transition, I can pick Ryan’s brain and also pick the brain of the commissioners, because there will most likely be difficult decisions,” he said.

While responding to a question about how he will deal with negativity he attracted during his time as the county’s prosecutor, Strom said he feels it is important to be honest, transparent, and accessible.

“If you hide in your office and run scared from the difficult issues, you’re not (going to) make it in county government or, probably, any other organization,” he said.

After Strom’s interview, a motion was made to recommend the hiring of Strom as Delta County’s new administrator. Delta County Commissioner David Moyle said that — while he did not doubt Strom’s abilities as a leader — he had some concerns with the hiring process the county was using.

“Perception is reality, and I think we need to (involve) ourselves in a process that will allow us to go outside,” he said.

Other county officials present at Monday’s meeting disagreed.

“The majority of hiring in the … corporate world is done internally, and that’s the first place anybody looks,” Commissioner Gerard Tatrow said.

With the exception of Moyle, each member of the Delta County Board of Commissioners voted in favor of recommending Strom be hired to replace Bergman. A vote to ratify this motion will be taken during today’s county board meeting. The committee of the whole also agreed to recommend Strom have the same contract terms as Bergman.

Strom has notified Circuit Court Judge John Economopoulos that he plans to accept the position of county administrator if the Delta County Board of Commissioners offers it to him. If this comes to pass, Economopoulos would appoint a replacement county prosecutor for the remainder of Strom’s term.

After their vote, Strom voiced his appreciation to the county officials present at Monday’s meeting.

“Thank you very much for your confidence and for your kind words,” he said.

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