Former Jefferson County administrator declines Washington County human resources post

Two weeks ago, the Washington County Commissioners agreed to offer the position of director of Human Resources to Stephanie Grove, who is currently the town administrator for Shepherdstown, W.Va.

In the end, Grove opted to remain in Shepherdstown.

Before she held that position, however, she was the county administrator for Jefferson County, W.Va. She'd reached what the Shepherdstown Chronicle reported was an "separation agreement" with the county. And according to The Journal in Martinsburg, W.Va., she left that position in November 2021.

The Journal reported that Grove's exit was tied to her hiring of Michelle Gordon, who was recently appointed county administrator for Washington County. It cited reports from Jefferson County Perspective, which the newspaper identified as a local watchdog group, about Gordon's tenure as finance director for the city of Hagerstown.

Gordon was hired as Washington County's chief financial officer last November, and was appointed interim county administrator June 6. She was appointed permanently to the position on Tuesday.

Washington County Commissioners Vice President Jeff Cline said the decision to offer the Human Resources position to Grove, Gordon's former boss, was made because "we interviewed numerous candidates; Stephanie Grove was the best of all candidates … She was the best prepared of all the ones we interviewed."

The offer, with an annual salary of $140,670, was approved during the commissioners' Aug. 8 meeting. Cline and Commissioners Derek Harvey and Randy Wagner voted to approve it; Commissioner Wayne Keefer abstained because he had not been available during the interviews. Commissioners President John Barr was out of town.

Barr said this week that the position has been re-advertised.

Grove said Thursday she applied for the human resources job before she was hired in Shepherdstown several months ago. And, in fact, Grove said she had applied for the county position several times before.

Grove said she wasn't looking for a job when the human resources position became available recently. But when county officials pulled her application that had been on file and informed her of the lucrative salary she would be offered this time, she told Shepherdstown's mayor she was interested in it.

Grove said Shepherdstown countered with a higher salary for her, although it was not as much as the Washington County position. In the end, she decided to stay in Shepherdstown.

"I really do love working here and the people I work with," Grove said of the Jefferson County college town.

"She's staying in Shepherdstown. There's nothing I know differently," Mayor Jim Auxer said Wednesday.

More: New county administrator's suit against former employer Jefferson County still pending

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Ex-Jefferson County administrator turns down county department post