Interim Oxford Village Manager Evan Teich was unable to attend council’s work session meeting last week, but his ears were probably burning as officials discussed his proposed staffing plan for the municipal office.

“I don’t like this at all,” said Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth.

“Nor do I,” said Councilman Erik Dolan.

“I don’t think it’s ready for us to vote on yet . . even at the next council meeting, unless it is substantially improved upon,” said Councilman Dave Bailey.

Teich’s plan proposes staffing the village office with one full-time employee, which would be the manager, and five part-time employees – three part-time administrative assistants, one assistant to the manager and one clerk/treasurer.

“By having only one full-time employee, the village reduces the health insurance costs by roughly $17,000 and retirement costs for the full-time treasurer(-clerk) position ($4,200),” he wrote in an Oct. 19 memo to council. “It allows for most of the hours needed to cover the phones and walk-ins to be performed by the administrative assistants with back up by the treasurer(-clerk) and assistant to the manager positions.”

Teich suggested the village “could try this arrangement for a period of say 6-12 months, review its effectiveness and adjust accordingly.”

Helmuth said the proposed staffing plan “doesn’t really do what I thought we were going to do.”

“This is not good to me,” she said. “I feel like this took about 5 minutes (to create).”

“I think it took considerably longer,” responded village President Sue Bossardet. “I think he spent a lot of time evaluating staff and coming up with solutions that would fit within the budget.”

“That’s your opinion. This is my opinion,” retorted Helmuth.

Councilman Joe Frost felt some of the staffing decisions should wait until after the village hires a manager.

“Certainly, a new manager, especially one with . . . . a more limited amount of experience may want (or) may need this in place because it’s one less thing to worry about,” he said.

However, Frost said if the village hires a “well-experienced” manager, he or she may wish to go in another direction.

“I personally am disinterested in changing anything (regarding) the administrative positions as they stand right now, especially in light of the fact that we had individuals who were threatening to walk off the job when confronting administration, saying if they didn’t get a raise they’d leave,” Dolan said. “I am interested in holding to where we are and ironing out (the details for) a clerk/treasurer position, so that we can hire that individual if we choose to do so.”

Much of council’s discussion was centered around the clerk-treasurer position, which has been vacant since June.

Teich recommended that Lori Fisher, who has served as the part-time elected treasurer for Addison Ttwp. since 2012, fill the position and he recommended it be filled “immediately.” She’s been working for the village as an independent contractor for $49.50 per hour since Aug. 28.

Currently, the clerk-treasurer gig is a full-time one and some council members would prefer to see it stay that way. “I feel that the clerk position is far too important to have it be a part-time position,” Frost said.

“I agree,” Bailey said.

Helmuth indicated she would like to see the position readvertised “with different qualifications.”

Dolan said he’s “willing to heed the manager’s recommendation (on the clerk-treasurer position) since staffing is the manager’s responsibility” and based on what he’s been told “the current candidate is working out exceptionally well.”

Although the manager can make a recommendation, ultimately, by charter, it’s up to the council to appoint the clerk.

However, Dolan took issue with Fisher’s proposed pay. “I don’t concur with the compensation package that’s being discussed,” he said.

Teich proposed Fisher be paid “a starting salary of $35 an hour” for 20 to 25 hours per week, plus “some benefits” such as 50 hours worth of vacation time and a 5 percent match for retirement. Under this proposal, Fisher’s annual salary, not including benefits, would range from $36,400 for 20 hours per week to $45,500 for 25 hours per week.

The current budget for the clerk-treasurer job, as a full-time position, is $65,225 including benefits. The salary portion alone is $42,757.

As Addison’s part-time treasurer, Fisher currently earns an annual salary of $35,248.

Teich told this reporter he was unable to comment on council’s criticism of his plan given he was out of town last week and hasn’t had an opportunity to view the meeting.