New commissioners hire new chief clerk, solicitor

Jan. 2—MERCER — County Commissioner Ann Coleman sat in the chair position at the reorganizational meeting Tuesday.

In addition to electing Coleman as the new chair of the Board of Commissioners, the commissioners selected commissioners William Finley Jr. as vice chair and Timothy McGonigle as secretary.

McGonigle was the lone dissenting vote against appointing Roni Schilling as the county's new senior chief clerk.

"I'll be voting 'no' but I don't want that to be an edict on Roni," McGonigle said. "Elections have consequences, so I was not in favor of the position opening up, but I wish (Shilling) well and I hope you do a good job."

Shilling has served the county for several years as a sheriff's deputy, including more than a year from April 2018 through the 2019 elections as acting sheriff after the retirement of former Sheriff Gary Hartman.

Shilling replaces Ann Morrison, who was chief clerk for seven years.

Commissioners unanimously appointed William G. McConnell Jr. as the county's solicitor. McConnell served as the county's solicitor 12 years ago. He replaces William Madden.

"He does bring some experience to the position," Coleman said.

Madden had been elected in November to a 2-year term as a Hermitage city commissioner but then resigned from that position because he wasn't permitted to hold that office and be the county solicitor.

In their last resolution of the reorganizational meeting, commissioners appointed Meg Mirizio as the chair of the Board of Assessment Appeals, and members Nancy Schlegel and Rose Turuck, with Jennifer Kraynak as an alternate, all for four-year terms.

"These individuals are going to be assisting as we move through reassessment to make sure that we don't have a back up in appeals and we can keep that process moving," Coleman said. "We anticipate there are going to be some appeals as the assessment gets further along."

The county is in the middle of the first county-wide reassessment of property values in more than 50 years.

Follow Melissa Klaric on twitter @HeraldKlaric or email her at mklaric@sharonherald.com

Follow Melissa Klaric on twitter @HeraldKlaric or email her at mklaric@sharonherald.com