Lake County government wants to fill 29 jobs

BY BILL DOLAN, Times of Northwest Indiana 
bdolan@nwitimes.com

CROWN POINT | Lake County government could be on the verge of filling 29 job openings at a time when private sector operations are cutting back.

The Lake County Council could approve filling the job vacancies with salaries ranging from $20,000 to $85,000 at its February meeting Tuesday.

A discussion of the potential hirings at the council's workshop session Thursday comes in the wake of a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that Northwest Indiana has suffered the second highest increase in unemployment over last year.

The County Council imposed a hiring freeze last summer that forces all county officials to win exemptions from the council to hire anyone.

Some 10 of the positions are in the Lake County Parks and Recreation Department, which is gearing up for its 2009 season. Robert Nickovich, the parks department's chief executive officer, said he hopes to open the department's golf courses as early as next month.

The parks department also is preparing for a June grand opening of its $7 million Three Rivers Children's Discovery Play Center, a 25,000-square-foot romper room for children near the Interstate 65/94 interchange in Lake Station. It is planned as a destination tourist attraction that could draw a quarter-million visitors a year, county officials have said.

Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter told the County Council he needs to hire five lawyers who each will have to deal with a caseload of 150 alleged crimes. He urged the council to let him fill the positions immediately.

"It's a logistic nightmare," Carter said. "These deputies are so critical to our daily operation."

The County Council also is being asked to give the green light to hire a coroner's office photographer, two court security officers, a radio communications specialist, four employees for the Calumet Township assessor, two for the St. John Township assessor, a chief deputy for the county clerk, a court stenographer, two court office managers and a public defender.