By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
Boone County Assistant County Administrator Matthew Webster announced the recommendation of Matthew Dowling as the latest member of the new Administrative team that they want to have in place as soon as current County Administrator Jeff Earlywine retires this week and Webster takes over as County Administrator.
“I am very happy to present to you our recommended candidate for Deputy County Administrator, Matt Dowling,” said Webster at the last Fiscal court meeting last week. “The Deputy County Administrator position will backfill my current role with the primary focus on supervision and development of County departments, representing the county to various boards, meetings and events, and will be charged with overseeing projects, managing initiatives, and implementing strategic programs for the county.”
Webster said this position will round out the County Administrative team with himself and Rob Franxman.
Dowling was one of 60 applicants for the job, which was then winnowed down to six candidates who were invited to interview in person for the position. After the initial interview, those six were pared down to two, who interviewed with department heads and Judge Executive Gary Moore.
“All the candidates are well qualified, but Matt Dowling performed at a high level, and brings valuable experience,” said Webster. “We believe he is the best overall fit for our new team.”
Matt Dowling is currently City Administrator for the city of Elsmere, where he has been for the last 6 1/2 years. Prior to that, Dowling was the City Administrator for the city of Union and an administrator for the Sanitation Department. He has also served as an administrator for the city of Covington.
“He has strong connections around the region and a solid reputation,” said Webster. “He was actually voted chief Administrative Officer of the year last year by the Northern Kentucky City and County Administrators Association.”
Dowling admitted it was a difficult decision to make, leaving Elsmere, but he remembered that in his job at the city of Union he worked with several people at Boone County.
“I always admired Matthew Webster and Jeff Earlywine and their operation,” he said. “And I wanted to be a part of it.”
He currently lives in Fort Thomas, with his wife, Lexi Dressman Dowling, and their two young children, Adaline, 6, and Wallace 3. He realizes the new job will add a few miles to his commute, but he isn’t too worried.
“This was an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often,” Dowling explained. “The county is so well run. This is a chance to work with top shelf talent, being able to learn from Matthew, and Judge Moore and the commissioners and everyone. It is a chance to grow my skill set, and I am looking forward to it.”
Webster said that Dowling has given Elsmere a 30-day notice, so he probably won’t start in the position until till September 1, but they will get him onboard as soon as possible.
He explained that generally a Deputy County Administrator ranks slightly higher than an Assistant County Administrator, but at Boone County, since Rob Franxman will take on the Assistant County Administrator position and he is already the County Engineer, the two positions will be fairly equal in status.
Webster said Dowling will be in a supervisory position that will oversee half the departments in the county, but he will also be involved in policy level decision-making, and will assume many of the duties of the county administrator in his absence.
“Matt Dowling will be overseeing a lot of day to day operations, and assisting with policy formation and implementation on a broad scale as directed by the Judge and Court, whereas Rob will be very hyper-focused on infrastructure,” explained Webster. “Also, as consistent with this transition team, the change is budget neutral. We expect to hire one more for our team–a Communications Manager.”
The County Commissioners were pleased with the recommendation of Dowling and voted unanimously to approve the appointment to the position.
“We are extremely excited to continue to announce progress as we retool and build the team that will be leading us in the coming months and years,” Judge Moore summed up. “Matt’s skill sets are going to complement what we have, and where we’re going.”