Embattled county human resources director is leaving

Deb Hossli steps down more than a year after there was controversy surrounding her hiring

Sally Connell

Comments (0) |

E-Mail

Text Size:

tool goes here

The county’s human resources director, Deb Hossli, has said she will resign from her position.

County Administrative Officer David Edge said he expects to receive Hossli’s letter of resignation by the end of next week.

Her departure comes a year and a half after she was hired for the job amid a battle between administration and the county Civil Service Commission.

Hossli could not be reached for comment Tuesday about why she is resigning. Edge said it is his understanding she is resigning for personal reasons, adding, “I’ll respect Deb’s privacy in that regard.”

Hossli has held the position since April 2007. For six years prior to that, she directed risk management for the county. She stayed in charge of risk management in her latest position.

“When she was overseeing risk management, she saved the county literally millions of dollars in liability and workers’ compensation programs,” Edge said.

Her appointment to the position of human resources director followed a period of tension between Edge and the county Civil Service Commission.

Edge had originally wanted to make Hossli the assistant director of human resources, but some members of the commission said she was unqualified for the job.

When the director’s slot came open, the county Board of Supervisors followed Edge’s advice and appointed her to that position, a move that met with renewed disappointment from several Civil Service Commission members and some in the county’s main employee union.

The job description for the director position was more vague than for the deputy position, which called for a more quantifiable five years of human resources experience.

Relations between Hossli and the commission seemed to have smoothed in the time since her appointment.

The supervisors sided with Hossli and the commission in October when it decided to hire a negotiator to represent the Civil Service Commission as the county works on changes to the county’s civil service ordinance.

Edge had recommended that Hossli could represent the commission in those negotiations.