Hennepin County is now requiring top administrators and department leaders to live and work in the Twin Cities metro area, reversing a remote work policy set during the pandemic that drew widespread criticism for allowing two high-ranking county officials to live and work in California.

County Administrator David Hough, who approved what he called "an interim policy during a public health emergency," took the most heat for allowing newly hired Library Director Chad Helton to permanently move to Los Angeles and run the county's 41 library branches from there. Many front-line library staffers, who had to show up for work despite COVID fears, were furious.

Helton resigned and settled with the county for $60,000 as payment for "emotional damages."

The other long-distance county official, Human Resources Director Michael Rossman, helped develop the policy and then raised eyebrows when he moved in 2021 to Palm Springs, Calif., where he worked using video conferencing.

Now, with Rossman planning to retire in November, county officials are making it clear that his successor won't be allowed to run the department from half a continent away. The job posting states that the position "will be performed onsite in Hennepin County, Minnesota," and that the new director "must reside in the greater Twin Cities area."

In an interview Thursday, Hough said the policy, issued in May, requires top county administrators — including himself, along with other county leaders and executives — to live in the metro area and work in the county.

"June 1 of last year is when our [County] Board decided to start meeting in person," he said. "This year in May, consistent with what the White House did, we rescinded the public health emergency."

During the pandemic, according to Hough, 6,200 of Hennepin County's 9,000 employees worked remotely. The county's new operating policy for many employees, he said, is a hybrid model that allows them to work at home and in the office.

Ali Fuhrman, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2822, which represents the county's clerical workers — some of whom work under Rossman — applauded the new policy.

"We are pleased that the posting requires the human resources director to live in the Twin Cities metro area," Fuhrman said. "It was completely inappropriate for Rossman to work and live in California."

But Hough said Thursday he had no regrets about allowing Helton and Rossman to live and work in California.

"I regret we had a pandemic and had to shut everything down," he said. "But is it a decision that I stand by? Yeah, under the circumstances, absolutely, at the time. Things change, though."

Putting a limit on flexibility

When the news broke in 2021 that Helton and Rossman were doing their jobs from the West Coast, Hough said it was permissible under what he called an "interim" policy in response to the pandemic. At the time, he said he also saw it as a long-term approach for an innovative, forward-looking county that wanted to draw and retain high quality employees.

In a teleconference interview two years ago from Palm Springs, Rossman told the Star Tribune that the "ability to harvest and retain talent who may not be close to headquarters is necessary. The next generation … wants workplace balance. They want to be judged on the products they produce, not adapt to paradigms of the past."

The county's job description for the incoming human resources officer says the new director must "drive innovation, optimize outcomes and champion diversity, equity and inclusion." The posting says the new director "will work closely with County Administration and all departments to advance county goals and improve life outcomes for all residents." The pay range is $146,000 to $219,000 annually.

The new policy does allow county workers to live out of state, Hough said, but he added there won't be many of them. The new approval procedure is elaborate and such work arrangements will need to be reviewed at least once a year.

"The county may rescind its approval of out-of-state remote work at any time and for any reason, either on an individual basis or by rescinding this policy, and the county will seek to give affected employees reasonable notice of the decision," the policy states.

Said Hough: "We do have flexibility for certain positions to work out of state, but not for the director, the assistant administrator, deputy county administrator ... or other managers and supervisors who have staff that work in county buildings in Hennepin County. There has to be a proximity, a nexus if you will, so they can be present."

He added that having county leaders on-site is "good for esprit de corps, collaboration, partnership, meetings — all those things that an innovative organization with an excellent culture needs to have."

Jeff Spartz, who chaired the Hennepin County Board in the 1980s and served as county administrator in the 1990s, said it's appropriate for the director of a county department to be based locally.

"I think when you are the department head, some face-to-face contact with the people you work with is warranted," he said. "I don't think [video conferencing] is enough. I don't think it does anything for the morale of ordinary workers. I have never believed that managers are a class apart ... I wouldn't want to attempt to be a remote boss."