Help wanted: assistant’s assistant.
The Springfield Township board unanimously agreed to create a new position recently, when Supervisor Mike Trout said his assistant is overwhelmed and needs some help.
Trout later estimated the position’part-time, about 25 hours per week, no benefits’could range from $12-$15 per hour, totaling a new township expenditure of $15,600-$19,500 per year.
The person will primarily work in the supervisor’s office to relieve some of Administrative Assistant Onalee Carnes? workload, Trout told the board during the regular June meeting.
The new hire, he noted, would be classified as a ‘floater? and also be available to the assessing, clerk and treasurer’s office ‘during heavy times like board of review, election and tax collection.?
‘Onalee feels guilty every time she takes a vacation day,? Trout said. ‘And she has several coming that I won’t let her take.?
Carnes, who previously served as administrative assistant to former Supervisor Collin Walls, said her office obligations have increased since Walls retired in November.
‘I’m doing things Collin automatically just did,? she said. ‘I’ve taken on additional responsibilities with planning, with overseeing web and cable.?
Carnes said Walls formerly handled tasks such as initial site plan reviews and variance ZBA applications.
‘I’m doing those now, while Mike’s in the process of learning the procedures,? she said. ‘You can’t just walk into some of that stuff.?
Trout’s biography, however, includes employment as a planning and zoning specialist, where he worked with local units of government to develop and administer zoning ordinances, downtown development plans and master plans. He also served on the Livonia Zoning Board of Appeals.
But Trout said he’s been spending a good deal of time outside the office.
‘There’s a lot of things to do in the community right now,? he said. ‘We have a big problem with abandoned homes, we have a big problem with water, and we have a big problem with our roads. All these things require me to be out talking to people, checking homes, checking situations, checking property and being aware of it. Even just going out and talking to the businesses and residents; I spend a lot of time doing that during the week.?
Specific details were somewhat sparse.
‘We’ve got people complaining about flooding and all kinds of stuff,? he said.
The township clerk and treasurer both voted in favor of the new position.
‘The supervisor’s administrative assistant is taking on additional duties and it does appear she requires some help,? said Clerk Laura Moreau. ‘The (floater) position is intended to provide support for the whole office.?
The clerk’s office made cuts last spring when a fulltime position was replaced with a part-time-no-benefits employee, Moreau noted.
‘We’re getting by with our reduced staff,? she said. ‘But it will help at election time to have a floater. Since it’s a new position and will support to the supervisor, it’s not clear how we’ll share that time.?
Treasurer Jamie Dubre said she needs calendar-specific help.
‘My use for an additional staff member is pretty much limited to six weeks out of the year,? she said, noting the first two weeks in September, the last two weeks in December and the first two weeks in February are particularly busy in the treasurer’s office.
‘I used to have an extra staff person all year, but with budget cuts we did away with that a couple of years ago.?
When things get busy, she said, employees from other township offices help on a limited basis. ‘We had a floater several years back,? said Dubre. ‘The difference then was we had a building department, with just one employee, so the floater filled in when it was busy.?
The township’s building department was outsourced to Code Enforcement Services in 2007. In March, the township hired a temporary employee to assist with the heavy workload during Board of Review.
Dubre said she could see merit a floater who was familiar with all township offices.
‘There are always things that can be done because we are running on less people,? she said. ‘Things like filing get prioritized down. It’s still getting done, but we’re not right on top of it like we used to be.?