Pepper, Portune looking at county job changes

During this year’s campaign, David Pepper asked voters to elect him commissioner so he could clean up Hamilton County government and get rid of inside deals and hiring friends.

Now -- after Democrat Pepper beat incumbent Republican Commissioner Phil Heimlich, giving Democrats a majority on the three-member board for the first time since 1962 – Pepper and Commissioner Todd Portune are planning personnel moves for when Pepper takes office Jan. 1.

“There will be changes,” Pepper said Monday. “Not just who is there, but how it’s structured.”

Those changes will happen before Pepper takes office in January.

“We’re going to do this in the next few weeks,” Pepper said.

In response to Enquirer questions, Portune wrote a Monday letter, noting the new majority would consider personnel changes and county jobs “created” in the last two years.

Pepper insisted during the campaign he would have a transparent government that didn’t hire personal friends or business associates.

Pepper’s campaign outline on that issue mentioned by name two county employees – Ron Roberts and Michael Schrimpf -- he believed were hired or retained because of their personal relationship with Heimlich.

Roberts was hired by a unanimous vote of the commission last fall when they also hired Administrator Patrick Thompson – by a 2-1 vote with Portune voting against Thompson. Thompson isn’t worried about his job, he said Monday.

Roberts also is a friend and confidante of Heimlich who gave him political advice. Schrimpf was hired by Thompson as a policy analyst, but Schrimpf took a leave of absence during the election to serve as Heimlich’s commission administrative aide because Heimlich’s normal aide, Rob Seddon, took a leave to serve on Heimlich’s campaign.

“With the deputy administrator, we’ll look to see ‘Do we want it to look like it currently looks?’ The answer is no,” Pepper said, adding he’s looking at jobs, not individual employees.

Neither Roberts nor Schrimpf returned Monday calls.

Pepper’s plan also mentioned Chris Finney, a lawyer and volunteer member of a commissioner-appointed task force who is a business partner of Heimlich.

That’s the same Chris Finney who took exception to being named. He verbally attacked Pepper during a profanity-laced tirade during an October Pepper press conference.

“Our decisions will be based upon retaining, or conversely appointing, those people who are the best people for the job or task regardless of Party affiliation, friendship or business relationship,” Portune wrote.

The Finney and Heimlich families own a real estate business.

Finney said he serves as a volunteer at the commissioners’ pleasure and can’t control what they do.

Portune has asked for a list of all commissioner-appointed task forces, their members and resumes. He also has asked Thompson for the administrator’s updated administrative organizational chart to include newer hires.

Jobs being mulled
With David Pepper defeating incumbent Republican Phil Heimlich last week, Hamilton County’s three-member Board of Commissioners now has a majority of Democrats. The two Democrats – Pepper and Commissioner Todd Portune – are contemplating personnel changes. During his campaign, Pepper attacked two specific employees and a volunteer member of a commissioner-appointed task force:

* Patrick Thompson, county administrator.
Annual salary: $209,966.08;

* Ron Roberts, deputy county administrator.
Annual salary: $162,500;

* Michael Schrimpf, policy analyst.
Annual salary: $36,000;

* Chris Finney, head of the Tax Levy Review Committee;
Annual salary: None, volunteer position.