As human resources director, the former Illinois toll road official will push efforts to retain city staff and make it more diverse and tolerant.
By KELLEY BENHAM
Published May 10, 2003
LARGO - After a frustrating 17-month search, the city has found a human resources director.
Susan K.H. Sinz, who runs the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, accepted the job offer last week.
That's a relief to City Manager Steven Stanton. The position is key to his plans to diversify city staff, retain employees and strengthen the city's discrimination and harassment policy.
Stanton chose Sinz for the $84,000 position because of her 13 years of experience and her enthusiasm for the job, he said.
"She's a very strong fit," he said.
She will work with Stanton to make city staff more diverse and more tolerant. The city needs to recruit and hire more minorities without resorting to a quota system, Stanton said.
The city is still recovering from a racial slur in the Fire Department that cost an employee her job, and the city staff is writing a discrimination and harassment policy for all its employees.
The proposed policy adds protections for gays, lesbians and transgender people. It broadens and clarifies definitions of what is tolerated in the workplace.
"We still need to have conversations in that area," Stanton said.
"This organization is dealing with self-expression where in the past we have not."
The job seemed taken six months ago, but the candidate backed out and the search began again. Stanton doesn't anticipate problems this time, but he'll be relieved when Sinz shows up for work, he said, "given the history of the position."
Sinz has a master's degree in human resources from Loyola University.
She lost her Illinois government job when a new governor was elected, Stanton said.
Sinz is married to a psychologist who is opening a practice in the area, he said.
