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Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2009 > November > 25 > Entry
Auditor’s high-dollar hire draws fire
From today’s paper:
Nine days before the application deadline for an office executive director, Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds hired the former president of a company he used to work for.
Jim Oswald, former president of Summit Solutions Inc., was hired Sept. 30 for a salary of $99,499, according to county records.
Reynolds worked for the Dayton-based company as a finance director from 2006 until shortly after he took over the auditor’s office last year. He lists the company as a source of income on his financial disclosure statement filed with the Ohio Ethics Commission in March.
Reynolds said he didn’t report to Oswald — “He was not the guy that was paying me,” he said — and hired him because he was the most qualified for a much needed position.
“I found the guy that I wanted and once I identified the person that fit the need, we made the decision to move forward with him,” he said. “There was no need to wait.”
The job listing — posted in county buildings and on the county Web site — solicited applications from Sept. 21 to Oct. 9.
Reynolds said he followed through on his pledge to advertise all open positions, though he didn’t interview the other two people who applied for the job, and stopped taking applications early.
Reynolds made that pledge shortly after taking over the office from Kay Rogers, who resigned last year after pleading guilty to federal bank fraud charges.
At that point, Reynolds said, the office was “clearly in a mess.” He said he knows Oswald’s salary “seems high, but to get a high-end executive to help get this office back on track was the right decision.”
Hiring draws criticism amid county budget woes
Reynolds’ high-dollar hire of an office director has drawn criticism from some fellow officeholders as the county looks at ways to trim its budget in the face of a $6.6 million budget deficit next year.
“I think that a few of the officeholders are concerned with the new hire coming in at that level of salary while our budget work group is looking at ways to bring those top salaries down,” said Clerk of Courts Cindy Carpenter, who is a candidate for county commission next year.
Reynolds said the newly created position “is definitely necessary to take on the challenges we have in here, which is an overhaul of the office, of the entire office.”
Jim Oswald — former president of a company Reynolds used to work for — was hired Sept. 30 as an executive director, nine days before the window to submit resumes closed.
His starting salary is $99,499, according to county records. Reynolds said that is less than that of a deputy auditor he never replaced.
The job description includes overseeing much of the roughly 50-person office, which has shrunk in size through layoffs and attrition to save money since Reynolds took over.
“The guy is top notch. He’s a military academy graduate with honors, held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, has been a high-end consultant professionally. He is exactly what this county needs,” Reynolds said.
“We need some more Jim Oswalds.”
Reynolds took the post last year amid heightened concerns of nepotism and patronage in county government. The Ohio Ethics Commission had confirmed ongoing investigations into what role, if any, a county administrator and commissioner had played in securing raises for family members.
“I’m going to advertise positions and hire the most qualified,” Reynolds said shortly after being appointed to replace former auditor Kay Rogers, who resigned after pleading guilty to bank fraud charges. “That’s the least I can do to ensure we hire quality people working in the Butler County auditor’s office.”
Reynolds has been elected by voters since his appointment, and says he has stuck to that pledge. “My point is, I’m going to hire the most qualified people to do the work,” he said. “I’m not going to hire the uncles, the soccer coaches, the daughter’s boyfriends, the neighbors. I’m not going to do that.”
He said his office still has no formal hiring policy, which is one of the things he wants Oswald to help create.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: County Auditor
Comments
By BarkleyJones
November 25, 2009 12:12 PM | Link to this
Typical political b.s. Note to Oswald and Reynolds: you’re being watched, start acting like it or someone might take away all your fun.
By Pat
November 25, 2009 1:32 PM | Link to this
Everyone in Butler County offices is a Republican. How can we expect to every clean up our county until we balance our offices with someone that would keep this party in check. Reynolds is playing with the same rules all leaders in Butler County adhere to: hire your family and friends. Share the wealth with people you know.
By sickofthis
November 26, 2009 12:41 AM | Link to this
defends ? defends his hire ? you have got to be joking. simply more of the same old political crap. reynolds campaign claims were just that claims that he has not lived up to. what about that bs of being in the office everyday ? ever check his parking spot - kay rogers parked there more often than reynolds has.
By snoopy
November 26, 2009 5:23 AM | Link to this
The choir boy image Roger wants to have is a sham. Everyone knows he has played DIRTY politics since the beginning. I am so sorry there is not enough space here to tell the whole story of how he laid some employee’s off because they were hired by Kay and not to save money.
By joshgofurther
November 26, 2009 8:43 AM | Link to this
Josh, you need to check the other jobs he created in the last 1.5 years..Ms. Grevey a tax specialist, now? Lisa Hurst, personel director? Hired Shawn Webster’s son for the BMV Head, then fired him because he did not know what he was doing. His assistant at the BMV(friend). He throws things out about others, that are not true, so to dupe the public into thinking thet did it…when really he did. Keep digging Josh…and his parking spot is empty because he is making real estate deal for his friends and family..Josh print Mr Oswald resume for all of us to see. then let us decide the TRUTH! Strange resume wasn’t it!
By Robert
November 28, 2009 1:40 PM | Link to this
Having worked in county goverment for over ten years I can tell you, a Job is never posted until they know who they are going to hire.
By Concerned
December 2, 2009 8:48 AM | Link to this
Check out Summit Solutions, Inc. Et Al. Plaintiffs v. James “Jim” Oswald, Et Al. Defendants in Montgomery County, case number 09-7356 where both Reynolds and Oswald are defendants in this case and both agreed to an injunction.
By County CROOKS strike again
December 3, 2009 9:12 PM | Link to this
Hey Roger, why not try staying in your office long enough to clean it up yourself. See the mess you have made by letting the so called Supervisors and Directors make the discissions!