The Starke County Commissioners conducted an Executive Session on January 27 in order to review a grievance filed by a member of the Starke County Planning and Zoning Department alleging an “uncomfortable working atmosphere”.
After conducting several interviews, the commissioners found that everyone had a commitment to serve the public, but there had been recent incidents. The commissioners concluded that the best solution was to restructure the department to clarify job responsibilities and a chain of command. The position titles and job descriptions will better suit the 2010 county ordinance creating the office of the Building Commissioner.
The position or job description currently called the Plan Commission Clerk shall be retitled Plan Commission Administrator. New job descriptions will be drafted for both the Plan Commission Administrator and a separate position to be called Building Commissioner. The Building Commissioner job description will be drafted to be consistent with the 2010 ordinance creating that office.
The job descriptions will be before the BZA and the Plan Commission for input before a final decision is made by the commissioners.
Further, the Starke County Plan Commission has the authority to appoint, employ, and remove both the Administrator and the Building Commissioner, which follows the policies and procedures outlined in the 2021 version of the Starke County Employee Handbook. The commissioners still have the ability to review the situation to ensure that the focus remains on service to the citizens.
The commissioners adopted these changes as presented during their regular public meeting on February 1.
