The Kalamazoo County Commission has left off searching for a permanent administrator for now. Instead, Deputy Administrator John Faul will fill the county’s top appointed role indefinitely.
Faul’s appointment comes after the departure earlier this month of former administrator Terrence Neuzil, who resigned after just a few months on the job. Staff members alleged that Neuzil made comments to female employees that could lead to an unequal work place. An investigation ended without a conclusion when Neuzil resigned.
Board member Scott McGraw was one of three board members who voted against Faul’s appointment. Before the vote, McGraw told the board it should do a local search to fill the position.
“And, you know, if Mr. Faul wants to apply for the job, I’d certainly encourage that. Last time I did too, when we were in the hiring process,” he said.
Chair John Taylor was among the eight commissioners who voted in favor of Faul’s appointment. Earlier in the day, Taylor called the idea of a search to fill the interim seat “ridiculous.”
"We’ve got to know as a board what our limitations are. And to find somebody with consensus that’s going to come in here for a short period of time, I just don’t think that that’s a possibility,” he said at the 7pm meeting.
The board is expected to wait until after the November elections to search for a permanent administrator.
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