At a time when Butler County office holders are being told to make cuts and to reduce spending to balance the budget in 2013, county commissioners are searching for a new person to hire in their office.

More than 800 applications have poured in for the position of office manager with a salary range of $57,000 to $75,000, according to Gary Sheets, human resources director.

The commission posted the job opening on Oct. 22 on local and national websites. Sheets said they began receiving resumes within hours.

A college degree is required, and functions include direction of the commissioner’s administrative staff, oversee clerical activity involved in the county’s purchasing process, receive and screen for county administrator request for paid and unpaid leave of department directors and division administrators, collaborate with the IT department to maintain the commissioner’s website, manage mail room employees, create and manage a centralized calender, and develop and maintain collaborative and respectful working relationships among office personnel.

“I think if the commission can find a person who is proficient in all the skills, it will be a valuable person to have,” Sheets said.

County Administrator Charles Young, who has been on the job four months, said questioning the expenditure at a time when balancing the budget is a must, is fair.

“This is sensitive. We have seen people reduce staff and furloughs in past years,” Young said. “But we do believe this position will help us do our job better … it will pay off in the long run.”

Commission President Don Dixon said reorganization is needed in the office and there is a need for a person to harness daily operations with accountability.

“I don’t need anymore hall monitors and anymore coffee carriers,” Dixon said. “We need a talented person who will have a good work ethic, be accountable and treat taxpayers’ money as their own.”

Dixon said that does not mean there is a plan for current employees to lose their jobs, but there is a need for reworking job descriptions.

“I think it will be more cost effective,” Dixon said, noting a lack of organization has played a part in the county’s financial woes.

Commissioner Cindy Carpenter said the office manager position is part of the commission’s reorganization and development of new job descriptions

“Processes and procedures have not been updated for many years,” Carpenter said, noting the office manager will be handling many duties that have gone by the wayside due to downsizing.

But longtime commissioner Charles “Chuck” Furmon, who will leave office in January, said adding the position is “ridiculous.”

“We have a great staff who have done a terrific job over the years. We have asked all departments to crunch numbers and make cuts. We should be an example and do the same,” Furmon said.

Furmon said he believes the job posting is an attempt by Carpenter to get a personal assistant at taxpayers’ expense.

Carpenter and Dixon said the position was something the entire commission administration felt was needed. Carpenter said she has no one in mind for the job.

“The commission is willing to wait until we find the right person for the right price,” Carpenter said.

Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones, who has wrestled with the commission over budget issues for years and cut $400,000 from his 2013 budget proposal, said he supports a competent person to run the daily operations of the commission office.

“Nobody has fought with the commissioners about the budget more than me in the past five to 10 years,” Jones said.

The sheriff said the operations of all office holders are slowed down when it comes to dealing with the commission office and there often does not seem to be any accountability.