(Posted Oct. 5, 2016)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
The Madison County commissioners hired the county’s first ever county administrator on Oct. 3.
With a unanimous vote, they named Rob Slane to the newly created position, which became effective that same day.
Slane has worked for the county for 16 years—one year as network administrator and director of geographic information systems (GIS) for the engineer’s office and 15 years as the county’s chief information officer (CIO), handling all things technology related.
As CIO, Slane earned $80,000 per year. He will continue to perform his CIO duties as part of his responsibilities as the county administrator. His new salary is $95,000 per year.
As administrator, Slane will manage the county’s $88 million real estate portfolio, handle human resources for the county’s 200-some employees, help with budgeting and look for ways to save the county money.
“The amount of activity that comes through this office has grown consider-ably over the last several years,” said Commissioner Paul Gross.
The county needs someone with the education, expertise and experience to handle the wide array of the county’s day-to-day dealings, the commissioners said about their decision to create the administrator position.
Gross noted that local municipal-ities, including London, Mount Sterling and Plain City, employ non-elected individuals to oversee day-to-day operations. This allows elected officials to focus on setting policy and procedure and making sure adequate resources are secured for operations.
The commissioners received 16 applications for the new position. They narrowed the field to five, then to two, holding final interviews the week of Sept. 25. The top two candidates were Slane and Scott Weimer, an employee of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Both are Madison County residents.
Slane won the position for his proven track record, his knowledge of the county, and his established working relationships with officials at all levels of government in the county, said Commissioner David Dhume.
“His learning curve is very small compared to the other candidates,” he added.
Slane holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy and analysis from Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree in business from Walden University. Prior to working for Madison County, he was a GIS technician and GIS analyst for Wood County.
As for why he applied for the administrator job, Slane said, “I like working with people and think I can make a bigger contribution and a bigger impact in this type of position.”
His goals, he said, include an open door policy to hear the needs of the public and government officials at all levels. He also stressed cost savings.
As CIO, Slane proactively secured cost savings by consolidating the county’s computer server systems, phone systems, and electrical, propane and gas accounts.
As administrator, he plans to continue the pursuit of efficiency by reducing duplication of efforts and seeking out shared services among county departments and county jurisdictions.
“I want to make the county as efficient as possible and, through that, pay for (my) position,” he said.
As a consequence of accepting the administrator job, Slane is giving up his elected seat as London’s city treasurer, citing a conflict of interest. One year remains on his term. The Madison County Republican Central Committee will appoint a replacement.
