Ilsa Minor | Daily Press Residents were once again out in force Tuesday for the county’s regular board of commissioners meeting. While their concerns varied, the majority of those who spoke at the meeting were critical of the direction the board has taken since the commissioners were seated in January.

ESCANABA — The Delta County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a contract with new Interim County Administrator Ashleigh Young, despite the contract not being written yet.

There was initially some confusion from members of the board about the status of the contract. Commissioner Steve Viau, who has been critical of the wages requested by Young, asked for the board to go through the contract during the meeting.

“I want the contract read right now. I want to know what we’re signing. I really want to know what’s out there, and I want each word of that contract said,” he said.

Young herself was the one who pointed out the document did not exist.

“It was just the points. The contract has not been written. It will have to come back for signatures,” said Young.

Discussion of the terms of Young’s contract was tabled from the Feb. 21 commission meeting to allow the commissioners time to review the terms Young had requested for her contract. Chief among the concerns were how her wages would compare to former County Administrator Emily DeSalvo, who was terminated at the Feb. 7 commission meeting.

While serving as the county’s administrator, DeSalvo was paid roughly $101,000 annually. Young is requesting her $56,000 salary for her current positions as the county’s controller and human resources manager for the year, plus $50,000 for the six month period. This means Young would be paid $78,000 during the six month period and $106,000 for the whole year if she only serves as the interim manager for six months of that time.

While Young noted Tuesday that she does work weekends, the salary equates to roughly $600 a day, based on a five-day workweek.

Commission Chair Dave Moyle said Tuesday that, despite Young’s proposed wages being higher than DeSalvo’s, the county would actually save money by combining the administrator and controller roles into a single position. He said the county was previously paying $313,000 to fund salaries, taxes and benefits for both positions.

“Right now, if we accept this proposal on the contract, the county’s going to save a hundred grand a year. We will have an interim administrator that can control,” said Moyle.

The exact cost of entering into a contract with Young for the interim administrator position was not given Tuesday, however Commissioner John Malnar stated benefits were typically “dollar-for-dollar” when compared to salary.

Viau continued to push for different salary terms Tuesday, suggesting she be paid a 5-20% increase over her current salary or, if the commission found her to be highly qualified, 90% of DeSalvo’s salary. The proposals were based on recommendations from various sources including private business consultants and state-level controller compliance officers.

He also stated Young, while highly qualified in some areas, was still green in administration. Young told the commission her degree was in administration, however, she has not held any department-head level roles within the county.

Viau stressed his primary concerns were not about Young or her qualifications, but rather the position itself. He said the county should have a policy for these types of hires and employees should not write their own contracts.

“I’m saying it’s not realistic, what’s being asked here, and it’s not done properly in the realm of policy. It didn’t go to the finance committee. It didn’t go to the personnel committee. We follow some policies and some procedures and other ones we don’t,” said Viau.

Another concern raised by Viau and Malnar Tuesday was whether or not Young could legally hold both the administrator and controller positions or if the offices were legally incompatible.

“From what I’ve been told, up until the last two administrators, the administrators before were administrator/controllers and for I don’t know how long. I would question if there’s a case that they can’t, well then, how did we manage to get through years and decades of having an administrator that was controller also,” said Commissioner Bob Petersen.

Young told the commission her position as a hired controller was fundamentally different from that of an appointed controller and her role was more “director of finance,” as her job description does not fully encompass what people think of as a controller.

Not everything presented at the Feb. 21 meeting will make it into Young’s contract. A clause that would have required a super-majority of the board to terminate her was scratched, Tuesday. The clause was not part of DeSalvo’s contract.

“I believe the contract is fair and I think we should move on it,” said Commissioner Bob Barron.

Despite not having a written contract to approve, the board voted in a 3-2 split vote to “accept the interim administrator’s contract.” Commissioners Moyle, Peterson and Barron voted to approve the contract. Malnar voted “no” on the motion, and Viau voted “present.”