Mentoring makes for a smooth transition in county government

Key Takeaways

For more than 20 years as a high school teacher, Tim Heffernan’s life was guided by the bells that segmented classes throughout the day.

He used to chide Chip Abramovic, when he’d show up late to a meeting. But now, as Abramovic’s successor as a commissioner in Venango County, Pa., he’s seeing how harshly he judged his friend’s time management after being selected by the county’s president judge to fill the unexpired term.

“I understand it now, because these days, I’m running from place to place as fast as I can to try to try to keep up with the next conversation, because there are so many things that county government addresses,” Heffernan said. “I had been the kind of guy who would put his head down and get where I need to go, so I’m adjusting to having people stop me to talk.”

Do more

Are you retiring from county government at the end of the year? Keep County News updated on who is representing your county

After 10 years, then-Commissioner Abramovic had started thinking about life after office when a private sector opportunity was too good to turn down. And then he knew who to tip off — the former teacher and founder of the local nonprofit Innovation Institute for Tomorrow.

“Tim was someone I would vent to about being county commissioner all the time,” Abramovic said. “Then one day he told me that if I left, he’d be interested [in the job].”

Roughly one-third of county elected officials’ positions turn over every two years, and while the nature of political campaigning might not allow for the same warm handoff that the pair in Venango County enjoyed, Abramovic is encouraged by the results of their transition planning.

“I have advised and mentored a lot of county commissioners when I was state association president, and Tim works like a three-year veteran after a few months,” he said.

Abramovic focused on imparting institutional knowledge and letting Heffernan’s judgment take it from there. A lot of that background has been imparted over long phone calls, some lasting two hours.

“I told Tim I would give him the history and why we are where we are, but I am not going to give you advice on making decisions,” Abramovic said. “There were a lot of times someone would suggest something and I would say ‘oh, we’ve tried that before,’ but it was almost a decade ago. I’m enjoying seeing someone who is approaching these problems with fresh eyes.” 

One of those problems was county employee retention.

“A few years ago, we gave everyone a $3 [an hour] raise, and they quit anyway,” Abramovic said. “But that was years ago, and Tim didn’t feel so connected to that attempt that he was scared off of trying again.”

Heffernan, Abramovic said, brought renewed energy to the county’s administrative team’s effort, which ended up with a salary realignment and new pay scale.

“We brought everybody’s pay up to a level that would sustain families and also set the standard that Venango County is a good place to work,” Heffernan said. 

It was energy, insight and freshness Abramovic said he would not have brought to the job having fought those battles before. And that fuels his desire to remain a resource for Heffernan as he gets deeper into the job.

“I’m a guy who likes to connect the dots, so exploring county government, seeing how one department affects another, how county functions interact and overlap, that’s been my big learning curve, but it’s an enjoyable one,” Heffernan said.

Preserving institutional knowledge

If his responsibilities as a first-year Roosevelt County, N.M. commissioner keep Durward Dixon awake at night in 2027, he won’t have to sit alone with his thoughts too long. He’ll need only to wake his wife, Tina, and if she isn’t annoyed, draw on her eight years of experience. 

He’ll succeed Tina after she hits New Mexico’s two-term limit for commissioners. The potential loss of institutional knowledge prompted her to keep Durward and fellow incoming commissioner Kenneth Reed in the loop as she wraps up her term. The pair of county government novices joined her at NACo’s Energy Symposium in Potter County, Texas, a three-hour drive away, in September.

Dixon was the first female commissioner in Roosevelt County, and she spent some of her early years feeling like she wasn’t accepted. That motivated her to make sure other new commissioners don’t lose valuable time in office learning the ropes and have the support to govern effectively.

“I don’t want my eight years of experience to be for naught,” she said. 

Durward estimates that he has attended a quarter of the county commission meetings over the past eight years, not only as a spouse but also as mayor of their hometown. But while he’s not new to local government, there are some county nuances he has to learn.

“I’ll always be able to learn more about the background on issues from her,” he said.

She also plans to get Durward and Reed involved in NACo to keep Roosevelt County active members. 

Tina will have served six months as president of the New Mexico Association of Counties and attended the County Leadership Institute in June.

“The relationships and networking have been so valuable,” she said, adding with pride that she had helped pass a policy resolution advocating changes at the National Traffic Safety Institute.