Hamilton To Be Appointed Collector

Linda Hamilton will be appointed Crawford County Collector, formalizing a position she has held as deputy since March.

Hamilton took over March 16 when former Collector Pat Schwent's resignation was effective the day before. Schwent resigned her position over an ethics violation that involved hiring her sister to assist with work during tax season.

When the Independent News contacted the collector's office in March, Schwent said Hamilton had assumed the position while the Republican Central Committee finalized a recommendation to Gov. Eric Greitens' office. Schwent was then hired on to take over Hamilton's position.

There was confusion over who the collector was when County Clerk John Martin said Tuesday during a budget discussion that Schwent was making $5,000 more than Hamilton. 

Martin said he had been told Hamilton was collector and that she had been sworn in, but did not know which judge presided over the process. He also said he had not received any paperwork formalizing that Hamilton was collector.

Around April 13, Martin said he talked to an official from Greitens' office, who said no appointment had been finalized.

Crawford County commissioners were unaware of what the situation was and asked Martin to place Schwent and Hamilton on the agenda for the April 24 meeting.

Minutes later, the Independent News  spoke to Schwent, who gave an account of what had transpired over the last month.

Schwent said Jenita Martin had been the deputy collector, but would not take over the position due to a family issue and her decision to take another job at the end of April. Schwent said she spoke to Prosecuting Attorney Kent Howald on how best to proceed. According to Schwent, Howald suggested that Judge Sid Pearson swear Hamilton in as the deputy collector. 

"When I talked to Kent, I'm assuming we've done everything as legal as we possibly can," Schwent said.

Schwent said that as deputy collector, Hamilton could run the office. Without a deputy collector, she said the office would have to shut down.

Schwent speculated that Greitens' legal troubles could have slowed the process down. 

On the salary issue, Schwent said the difference would be made up from the tax maintenance fund.

Shortly after speaking to the Independent News, Schwent and Hamilton arrived back at the commission office. 

Schwent explained the situation to the commissioners, again maintaining that without appointing Hamilton, the office would have to shut down. 

To further clarify the situation, Presiding Commissioner Leo Sanders asked Hamilton to contact the governor's office and find out when the appointment would be official. Hamilton then spoke to Jill Irvin, the deputy director of Boards and Commissions. Irvin confirmed Hamilton's appointment would be finalized soon.

Sanders told Schwent he was concerned about the precedent her salary could set for other offices. Schwent said she has been training Hamilton to be collector and essentially doing two jobs.

"We're not doing anything underhanded," she said. 

Commissioners and Martin were trying to determine how, if Hamilton wasn't officially collector, she was being paid at the collector's salary. Since Hamilton was going to be the governor's appointee, Schwent said she believed her pay should reflect that.