By KATHY HAGEMAN
Dickinson County public information coordinator
ABILENE - Dickinson County Commissioners have selected Janelle Dockendorf to serve as county administrator, beginning in mid-December.
Dockendorf has served as budget director since joining the county 15 years ago and in January 2022 she also was named assistant county administrator.
Dockendorf will become county administrator following the Dec. 17 retirement of long-time county administrator Brad Homman.
Commissioners made the announcement during their Thursday meeting.
“We have put an emphasis on succession planning and developing people for career advancement,” said Commission Chairman Lynn Peterson. “Janelle has a great knowledge of the county and what is involved administratively.
“Personally – and I think the other commissioners also felt this way – we didn’t think there was any merit to have a head hunter come in and pay that extra money because we felt it would lead us right back to the decision we’re making now,” Peterson added. “We have someone who is already very dedicated and cares about Dickinson County. There is no learning curve. She already has the understanding, expertise and commitment.”
Peterson said he and the commission expect the transition to be a smooth one.
“Brad has indicated he’s available for consultation or questions that Janelle might have even after his retirement. He has such a wealth of knowledge to draw upon,” Peterson added.
Dockendorf said Dickinson County has excellent elected officials and managers in place and she has benefited from that situation.
“I’m very fortunate to have worked in a place that has supported me, believed in me and guided me. My plan is to continue doing that for others,” Dockendorf said. “At the end of the day, we all work for the citizens of Dickinson County. There’s a lot of interaction with the townships, school districts, cities and even regionally. I’m looking forward to building more relationships with all the entities throughout the county.”
Dockendorf has long been associated with the inner workings of both county and city government. Before coming to Dickinson County in 2007, Dockendorf spent nine years with the City of Abilene, including six years as finance director. She first joined the city in 1993, starting as a 911 dispatcher (Abilene handled emergency communications at that time), moved to utility clerk and then finance director.
During her time with Dickinson County, Dockendorf has monitored the financial side of numerous emergency projects, including working with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) following the June 11, 2008 Chapman tornado, the December 2007 ice storm and working with the National Resource Conservation Service in cleaning up tree debris from the May 25, 2016, tornado through a Watershed Protection Program grant and other responses.
“The ice storm in 2007 was the first time I dealt with FEMA,” Dockendorf said. “It seemed like every year there was a flood or some type of federally declared disaster.”
She’s also been involved on the financial side of many other projects, including working with the Kansas Department of Transportation to get funding for the overlay of Old 40 Highway, various federal COVID-19 relief programs, the new jail and courthouse renovation project, and the purchase of software that streamlined the financial information of all county departments and other software that upgraded the dispatch and record system for the sheriff’s department, jail and all county law enforcement.
She is in charge of crafting the county’s yearly budget and keeps watch over the finances of every department.
Dockendorf has served on the North Central Regional Planning Commission and its loan committee, the Corrections Advisory Board and Drug Court, and the Dickinson County Economic Development Corp. She is a member of the Kansas Association of Counties and the National Association of Counties.
She also is a Certified Public Manager, having completed the University of Kansas’ Heartland Certified Public Manager program in 2019.
Dockendorf said one of her first considerations as county administrator will be to hire a finance or budget director and, hopefully, groom them to become assistant county administrator as part of the succession planning.