Shake up alters staff at county
Butler County has a new chief clerk, amid a staff shake up in the county government center that has two county officials shouldering new responsibilities.
County commissioners announced Wednesday afternoon an internal reorganization of their office’s current staff.
Chief Clerk Scott Andrejchak, according to a news release from Commissioner Leslie Osche, the board chairman, “is no longer employed by the County of Butler.”
Andrejchak was earning $93,890 in his position with the county.
Andrejchak’s duties are now being divided between existing executive staff.
Ann Brown, formerly the fiscal operating officer for human services, has been named county budget and human services finance director.
Her salary will increase from $84,150 to $90,500.
Lori Altman will remain the county’s human resources director, but the job of chief clerk has been added to her title.
Altman will receive an annual stipend of $3,000 for the addition of the chief clerk duties, but will not receive an increase in base pay.
Mike English, county solicitor, will take on the role of Right to Know and compliance officer at no increase in salary.
The release did not say whether Andrejchak resigned or was terminated. Osche would not comment on the nature of his departure from the chief clerk position.
“I think the statement speaks for itself,” Osche said of the strongly-worded news release.
“The commissioners have high expectations of those in the executive staff,” Osche said in the release. “This restructuring will not only create a long-term savings, but will improve budget monitoring, reporting and projections.”
She said the board’s primary goal is to guarantee taxpayers a return on their investment that includes a “commitment to excellence and ethics in governance, diligent financial oversight, and reporting and projections that lead to sound decision-making.”
Osche did say Andrejchak’s departure was not the result of any financial misappropriation.
“We’re organizing in a fashion that will have better results for taxpayers,” she said.
Andrejchak said Wednesday evening that he was surprised by the board’s decision, which he was made aware of Wednesday afternoon, and had never been told by any commissioner that his performance as chief clerk had been lacking.
“If there were any issues with the performance, they never brought them to me,” he said. “I wasn’t privy to the reasoning for (my departure). They just said ‘we’re moving in another direction.”
Andrejchak said county officials followed established protocols after he was notified of commissioners’ decision Wednesday, but that “it wasn’t anything negative.”
“I have no regrets. I liked working there, and I think I did a good job,” he said. “I don’t have anything bad to say about (commissioners) necessarily. And I certainly don’t have anything bad to say about the staff. They’re second-to-none.”
Andrejchak, who says he has nearly 20 years of public administration experience and is a licensed attorney, said “The fact that my duties are being spread among three people speaks entirely for itself and the work I did.”
