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HAMILTON — Butler County Treasurer Nancy Nix just hired her first employee since taking over the office from Carole Mosketti last year.

Mosketti quit after admitting to hiring her granddaughter, which is a first-degree misdemeanor.

Nix's first hire: Carole McCollum, who started April 21 as a clerk making $35,000 a year. The position was not advertised.

"This person contacted me, she was interested in working for me because she worked for me prior (at US Bank), so based on my knowledge of her 30 years experience in banking and her work ethic ... I knew she would be a great employee for the treasurer's office," Nix said.

"In situations in the future I would imagine I would go out and publicly advertise for the position, but in this situation, knowing hers skills and qualifications ... I wanted to snatch her up," she said.

Nix isn't alone. Countless posts have been filled countywide that the general public never knew were open.

Rogers: 'It happens all the time'

Former county Auditor Kay Rogers — who resigned in March after pleading guilty to two felonies — said she almost never advertised for jobs.

When she did, she said she was swamped by people trying to get friends and relatives the post. So instead of angering all of them, she just hired someone she already knew.

This includes Rogers' cousin (Robert Goettleman), uncle (Ron Lauch), niece's husband (Brian Stewart) and neighbors (Art and Rita Parks).

Before resigning, she hired her former attorney's brother-in-law, David Bunn, who was immediately fired by her replacement.

Rogers said other offices did the same thing — "It happens all the time" — and everyone she hired was qualified.

"The difference between me and a lot of them (officeholders) is that if people don't work out for me, I don't keep them around," Rogers said. "I didn't pass my relatives off on someone else to make it their problem, I decided to handle it myself."

The Butler County Republican Party appointed Roger Reynolds to take over the office April 15.

"I'm going to advertise positions and hire the most qualified," Reynolds said. "That's the least I can do to ensure we hire quality people working in the Butler County auditor's office."

Reynolds said he's reviewing all 104 employees at the auditor's office to make sure they're qualified for the job they're doing.

Children Services

Another position recently filled, then vacated, without being advertised was a key post at Butler County Children Services.

When Children Services Director Michael Fox asked if he could hire another police officer to work with his intake staff, he had a candidate in mind: a female officer from Trenton who spoke Spanish and had a degree in social work.

But before even an interview, former county Administrator Derek Conklin said he should hire former Hamilton police officer Andrew Kissell for $62,500.

"Having been directed by Derek to proceed with the hiring of (Kissell) and having been told basically directly what salary we could pay we had an interview with him," Fox said. "I told him that he was hired."

Commissioner Donald Dixon put the brakes on the hiring when he heard, and now the position will be publicly advertised, Fox said.

Kissell served in the Hamilton Police Department with Commission President Charles Furmon. Fox said Kissell was an "excellent police officer," and Furmon never pressured him into hiring him.

"It was suggested that he be hired because of his experience and the fact that I know his ability," Furmon said. "And then I found out that the other commissioners weren't particularly in favor of him, so he wasn't hired."

The Sheltons

Ed Shelton is a Hamilton city councilman and former county commissioner. His wife, Judy, sits on the board of elections and is chairwoman of the Butler County GOP Central Committee.

In their decades of public service, both say they've referred "hundreds" of people for county jobs.

Most recently, the board of elections voted — Shelton seconded the vote — to hire Linette Shelton on Nov. 6. Linette Shelton, Judy Shelton's son's ex-wife, started as a clerk making $25,000 a year.

Before the hire, board of elections Director Betty McGary consulted Ohio Secretary of State Assistant General Counsel Brian Shinn via e-mail.

"We have a Board Member (Shelton) who is requesting that the Board consider hiring their ex-daughter in law in a full-time vacant position in the Butler County Board of Elections office," McGary wrote.

"The hiring of this individual would not violate Ohio ethics law," Shinn replied.

Judy Shelton points out that the hire was unanimously approved by both Democrats and Republicans on the board.

She said she wasn't aware Linette applied for the post until she came in for a test.

"Linette is a neighbor, she lives about a block away from (Deputy Director) Lynn Kinkaid," Judy Shelton said. "He had known she was looking for work, and he told her to file a resume, so it would be on hand."

Board of elections

This is how most board of elections employees are hired — by word of mouth. "We do not usually advertise," McGary said.

This means employees only know a position is open if they personally know a county official or employee.

State law requires the office's 28 employees to be evenly split between parties. So McGary, a Democrat, finds Democratic replacements. And Kinkaid, a Republican, finds them for his party.

"There has been no Democrat hired on our staff that was connected to anyone's family here at all," McGary said.

On the Republican side, Nancy Piper, wife of county Prosecutor Robin Piper, was hired July 2007 as an administrative assistant making $46,000. Kinkaid said he offered Nancy Piper the job when another Republican quit. Nancy Piper now makes $48,200.

Again, the board sought guidance from the secretary of state's office.

"I don't think the fact that the prospective employee is married to the county prosecutor necessarily creates a clear and/or constant conflict of interest, but it certainly does increase the chance that a conflict of interest may arise," responded Brian Green, elections counsel at the secretary of state's office.

Cathy Lambertson, Judy Shelton's son's girlfriend, was hired May 2006 as a clerk making $25,000. She was terminated April 2007 after several write-ups for behavioral issues.

Ed and Judy Shelton point to her firing as one of several examples that their relatives and acquaintances received no special treatment.

"I'm the first one to say fire somebody when they do that (don't work)," Ed Shelton said.

They said there's nothing wrong with passing along resumes or serving as references if someone they know needs a job.

"I look at it as a very good place to work and as long as someone doesn't hire their relative if they're an elected official ... I don't see anything wrong with it," Ed Shelton said. "If I've been able to help one person get a job in this county or a hundred people get a job in this county, I'd be very proud to have helped someone."

Clerk of Courts

Another officeholder who takes pride in helping people is Clerk of Courts Cindy Carpenter.

Carpenter employs mail clerks with physical and mental disabilities and has a "soft spot for individuals who have personal challenges," she said.

"Where I see that I as an employer can give an opportunity to someone who couldn't have one somewhere else, I see I should do so," she said.

This includes Elizabeth Kinkaid, daughter of board of elections Deputy Director Lynn Kinkaid. After leaving the county recorder's office because of "personal problems" according to her application, Elizabeth Kinkaid was hired as a part time deputy clerk in 2003 making $8.50 an hour. She is now full-time, making $11.87 per hour.

"She has been a valuable employee," Carpenter said. She said her father's position had nothing to do with her getting the job.

But that's not the case for many of Carpenter's employees, she said, and there's a good reason for it; she believes many people whose parents are public servants are inspired to follow suit.

"Off the top of my head, 30 percent of my employees had a family member in public employment of some capacity," she said.

"It's not a surprise to me that people in public service have their parents or grandparents involved in public service. There are many things about it that are very rewarding."

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