Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Despite some disagreement from one commissioner, the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to move ahead with the interim administrator selected last month after working through his contract.

The board voted 3-2 Oct. 15 to appoint Darrell Pettis, a former county administrator and engineer with experience in LeSueur and Watonwan counties. In the weeks since, the county and Pettis have been negotiating terms of his contract.

Board Chairman Brad Edwin said he was concerned with Pettis bringing up on three occasions about working from home and said that Pettis had made some changes to the contract to allow for some partial days and flexibility for time from home.

Edwin said he thinks to be a leader that working from home is unacceptable.

“You need to be available for those that you serve,” Edwin said. “You need to be onsite to take care of issues and problems. I just find this, in my eyes, not the way I want to go.”

Third District Commissioner John Forman said he understood that Pettis would need some flexibility in case of weather-related issues, as he is driving from about 70 miles away.

Edwin said while he understood that weather could be a factor, if he was asked to work three days a week, 20 to 24 hours per week, he could potentially come in a different day in the event of weather.

Second District Commissioner Dawn Kaasa said Pettis had said he was willing to come in a different day if something came up on one of the days he was supposed to be at work.

Fifth District Commissioner Nicole Eckstrom said she thought Pettis was qualified and willing to do the job and that she was willing to be flexible with him.

“We’ve already taken so much time to get this into place,” she said, noting she thinks Pettis understands that the board wants him to work from the courthouse.

She said she was not in favor of putting the issue on another workshop and then it being the end of December before the interim position was filled.

Forman said he agreed with Eckstrom and that there needed to be something in the contract that allowed him to work from home when there is a storm.

Edwin ultimately said if the rest of the board was in favor of Pettis starting, he would go along with the other commissioners’ wishes, though he was not in favor of the changes to the contract.

Erin Hornberger, human resources director for the county, said Pettis said he was willing to start next week.

Commissioners previously stated Pettis will work as an employee of the county, rather than a contractor, and would make $130 per hour for 20 to 24 hours on Tuesday through Thursday of each week.

The agreement also calls for $1,250 each month for a vehicle allowance for things such as mileage reimbursement and automobile costs.

Regarding the search for a permanent administrator, the county received 12 applicants, and one withdrew from consideration. The personnel committee scored 11, and there are five that will be brought in for interviews.

The dates of the interviews have not yet been set.