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Transit board hires fill-in chief

WARREN — The Trumbull County Transit Board in a special meeting Monday voted to hire an ex-board member to serve as a clerk and fill in as administrator.

Earl Brown served on the board until earlier this year and was the secretary.

The board voted to hire him, but to keep working on the job description and pay details.

“We wanted to go ahead and get the position filled as part time, to get him in, because our administrator (Mark Hess) is leaving at the end of the year,” Robert Faulkner, chairman of the board, said.

The board isn’t advertising to fill the position because “we need someone who knows the ins and outs to serve in the interim,” Faulkner said.

Discussions earlier this month centered on bringing Brown back to perform his prior secretarial functions — keeping, typing and distributing minutes — though board member Lee Seiple took over the secretary position.

Initially, Brown’s salary was going to be $1,000 a month, but the board asked its attorney to look into making him a independent contractor on a per-hour or per-meeting rate.

The draft job description presented Monday by board attorney Daniel Keating stated the position would be paid $25 an hour, be a county employee and get county benefits. But Keating said there were still kinks to work out with the county.

The duties of the clerk position probably wouldn’t allow the board to hire the clerk as a contractor, Keating said.

County Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa said he is comfortable with the idea of a part-time employee, but not if general fund dollars are being used and only on a temporary basis, to serve as interim administrator for six months. The cost of the salary should come out of the board’s budget made up of grant dollars and ridership fees, Cantalamessa said.

The board is preparing to advertise for the opening. The proposed job description, which is under revision and needs to be discussed with commissioners, Keating said, does not include any language indicating the position is temporary.

Faulkner said they would want to the new administrator to decide if the new clerk position should stay filled after he or she is hired. He said the board will pay for the salary.

The board also discussed a review being conducted this week by the Federal Transit Authority, which sent four representatives to the area to interview board members. The FTA received complaints against the transit services the board offers, Faulkner said, but would not elaborate on the nature. Hess said they are also checking to see if issues caught in prior reviews are being rectified.

Keating said board members could discuss their interviews with him or transit attorney Steve Diaz, who was retained to help with the review.

The board also discussed sending an invoice to Liberty Township, which canceled its contract with the transit board, citing a limited use of the service for its residents. The township was paying the board $6,000 in exchange for discounted rides for residents. But only 10 residents use it regularly, township trustees said.

Faulkner said the township is two years behind on payments.

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