Additional $5,000 sign-on bonus approved

BY KEVIN BONESKE

REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER

The person selected to replace longtime Oneida County finance director Margie Sorenson, who plans to retire at the end of this year, has accepted the position to start Oct. 3 after an additional $5,000 sign-on bonus was included in the offer of employment, said county human resources director Lisa Charbarneau.

The County Board voted at its August meeting to hire Darcy Smith, a deputy finance director in Shawano County, as Sorenson’s replacement with the provision the county’s Administration Committee could further negotiate with her, if necessary, for her to accept the job.

Supervisors were informed by Charbarneau that Smith, who was not present for the meeting because she was involved in putting together Shawano County’s budget, could receive an equivalent offer to stay there.

The resolution backed by supervisors set Smith’s salary at the “Grade Level S” with a “Step 9” for an annual salary of $84,794 with total yearly wages and benefits coming to $120,615, along with her being awarded 15 additional days of Paid Time Off upon her hire.

Charbarneau said the $5,000 sign-on bonus was the only other provision added to Smith’s compensation package as outlined in the resolution. She also noted Smith will be working with Sorenson though the end of the year upon starting Oct. 3.

The resolution’s fiscal impact statement for the finance director/county auditor position listed the estimated cost for “double coverage” in the final three months of this year with wages and benefits totaling $30,154.

Charbarneau said Smith was one of 17 qualified applicants and four interviewed for the position. She noted the other three finalists interviewed were: Diane Sennholz, currently an accountant for Marathon County and that county’s former clerk of court for 10 years; Janice Anderson, who has been the program director for small business technical assistance with the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council; and Julie Ostrander, the city of Rhinelander’s finance director.