Cook County and North Shore Health have agreed to share the cost to hire a Public Information Coordinator. Commissioners approved the joint venture on Tuesday, November 24. The hospital board approved the same the week before.
County Administrator James Joerke said he had seen a presentation from Otter Tail County about their public information officer coordinator and found it had been working well for the county. “They are seeing a lot of value in this position,” Joerke added.
Board chair Myron Bursheim said a public information coordinator, “really meets the needs of the community.”
Both commissioners Heidi Doo Kirk and David Mills also spoke in favor of creating this position and the vote was unanimous.
Whoever is hired will be responsible for developing and coordinating Cook County and North Shore Health’s public information programming. This will include developing communication policies, programs, media relations, management of visual identity and brand, public engagement, communication plans and communication training programs for staff. The Public Information Coordinator will be the primary contact for the media as the spokesperson for the county and North Shore Health.
In other county board action:
* Following the recommendations of the classification committee, commissioners approved a revised job description and higher pay grade for the Public Health and Human Services executive administrative assistant position.
* To fill a vacancy at the Highway Department, Steve Olson was hired as a Highway Maintenance ll worker.
* Commissioners approved the annual local match pledge ($2,500) to maintain the county’s membership in the North Shore Management Board (NSMB). The NSMB is responsible for defining the minimum zoning standards for Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. NSMB also reviews variances, conditional use, and other zoning applications and issues to provide local jurisdiction with additional feedback regarding pertinent development issues along the shore.
* A change to the policy for temporary employees was approved which will now make them eligible for the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The change will be reflected in the employee handbook, noted Human Resources Director Pamela Dixon. Dixon said some temporary employees had been asking to receive EAP services due to the stress of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Commissioners agreed that all of the county employees, temporary or fulltime, should have access to the Employee Assistance Program.
* Commissioner Ginny Storlie was reappointed as the county representative on the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission. Storlie has served on the ARDC board as the county representative the past six years. When asked if she would like to continue, Ginny said she would be honored to continue.
Each county has one appointed representative on the ARDC board with terms lasting three years.
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