When
the Knox County Board decided not to renew county administrator Alan HallbergÕs
contract, ending November 30, we all promised not to make any personal remarks
about Hallberg. He expressed concern about this when he was informed of our
decision. The county board has kept its promise, and Hallberg has thanked us by
bashing the board in the daily papers. His latest quote in the Peoria Journal
Star was that his office was created in chaos, existed in chaos and ended in
chaos.
I
take exception to that, especially how it ended. We tried to be professional
and keep our mouths shut. Hallberg chose the other route. Compare his
complaining to the attitude of the first Woodford County Administrator, in the
job for 13 months, who is terminated as of November 19. He said that when he
took the job he knew there would be a Òhigh mortality rate.Ó The Woodford
County board had voted 8-7 for the county administrator position - hardly a
ringing endorsement for the idea. But Greg Seefeldt went on to say that keeping
the job through November would allow him to Òfinish what he started,Ó including
the county 2006 Budget.
ÒItÕs in the
taxpayers interest for a smooth transition and to finish up the budget process,Ó
said Seefeldt. ÒBetween now and my last day at work, IÕll be working around the
clock to do the best job I can to show the importance of the position.Ó
Now
thatÕs professionalism and class. Then there is HallbergÕs approach. He refuses
to work on the budget or assist with ongoing labor negotiations. He wonÕt
return phone calls. I am extremely disappointed in HallbergÕs lack of
professionalism. ItÕs not easy to fire someone or be fired, but it happens.
The
job as the first county administrator would be tough. For background, Hallberg
had talked to the Henry County Administrator and others about the job, and when
he was hired four years ago, I was not on the board but believe the
expectations of the Knox County Board were made quite clear to him. But in a
job like this, one has to win the trust of the county board and administrators.
One has to be outgoing, friendly, show a lot of initiative and communicate
well. This is not HallbergÕs personality. When I was elected last year, I told
him I thought he should play a bigger role in county board business than he had
been allowed to do and I would support him any way I could. I was pleased that
he began to sit in front of the board with the chairman and play a larger role
in our meetings.
Hallberg
is competent, but never really cut out for this kind of job. He met with
department heads once a month, but other than that, didnÕt have much to do with
courthouse employees, elected officials and other administrators. His
responsibilities should have increased with the dissolving of county board
committees this year. Rather, it mainly increased the responsibilities of the
chairman and the County Clerk who by law is the Secretary of the Board. I
supported eliminating committees, but have changed my mind. The current system
gives board members too little responsibility and meeting twice a month is an
unnecessary workload for the County Clerk and chairman.
I sense that most of the
board members want to continue the position of County Administrator. I have
been an advocate of the position since the 1980s. When and if we hire another,
every board member will have to make a commitment to support and cooperate with
him or her. And the new county administrator has to understand that he is
operating in a political environment and a complicated county government
structure, where his main asset will be his ability to influence and
communicate with others.
Caroline Porter is a Knox
County Board member and freelance writer who can be reached at cporter@galesburg.net.