People change jobs all the time.They move to a different department or employer with very little fanfare.Proclamations and handshakes are usually reserved for people retiring…
People change jobs all the time.
They move to a different department or employer with very little fanfare.
Proclamations and handshakes are usually reserved for people retiring after decades of dedicated service.
Not so in Geauga County.
As she transitions into a new job, Heidi Delaney, who has been working her way up from budget director for the Geauga County Commissioner’s office to budget and finance manager over 10 years, was honored last week for her years of service, and for being friendly and helpful.
But that’s not nearly all.
During the regular county commissioners’ meeting May 10, county administrator Dave Lair read a resolution, unanimously adopted by the commissioners, praising Delaney’s financial expertise, work ethic, willingness to train anyone on the New World Financial System, her high degree of credibility, for accuracy and completeness of her budget reports, her well-organized budget hearings and the reliable data she produced that supported decisions made by many commissioners.
In addition to the accolades, when she took her new job May 16, Delaney didn’t have to drive farther to work or get used to a whole bunch of new faces.
Delaney went to work as the City of Chardon’s deputy of human resources and finance director, about a mile from her former Geauga County office at 470 Center Street.
“I’m cutting my commuting time in half, from seven minutes to three,” she laughed last week on her next-to-last day as a county employee.
Normally neat and well-organized, her office seemed very empty, the result of Delaney’s efforts to clear the decks for the next occupant, she said.
Her career in public finance administration led her over the years to work for the cities of Kirtland and Willoughby, she said.
She and her family moved to Chardon and she found her niche with the county.
“I certainly have enjoyed this position for 10 years. I’ve really enjoyed working with the people here,” Delaney said, adding she is looking forward to taking the next rung on her career ladder.
“The job (with the city) is different. The human resources responsibility kind of attracted me to the position,” she said.
Delaney has been “on the fringes” of human resources, helping out the staff at the county. When she saw the ad for Chardon, she applied quickly.
“These positions don’t come up that often,” she said.
The city will be a microcosm of the county landscape with the human resources opportunity she has wanted to pursue.
The position is new, which means she can help others at the city mold its parameters, she said.
“I’m really looking forward to my career development. This is the next step for me,” Delaney said. “Change is good, sometimes.”
For his part, city Finance Director Mate Rogonjic is looking forward to having Delaney on board.
“Human resources will be a big part of her job,” he said.
City Manager Randy Sharpe never hired an assistant manager, so the human resources chores have been split up among him, Rogonjic, department heads and city clerk Amy Day.
The finance director’s plan is for Delaney to centralize the human resource duties, keep the process uniform and consistent, and stay up-to-date on HR law, he said.
Of course, she will oversee payroll for more than 90 employees.
When city council gave the okay to advertise for the position, resumes rolled in. He and Sharpe had to narrow down the 50-plus applicants and came up with fewer than 10 to interview.
They rated the interviews, then compared notes.
“Both of our lists had Heidi at the top. That made it easy,” Rogonjic said.
Besides getting her part of city government organized, Delaney will be working on next year’s employee health insurance proposals, he said.
“Having Heidi here is going to help me tremendously,” Rogonjic said.
