While some may question their methods, the way Northumberland County commissioners hire employees mirrors the process used in nearby counties.

The Northumberland County commissioners recently came under fire for hiring a new Children and Youth Services director without voting on the position at a public meeting.

Their solicitor, Hugh Jones, said they didn't have to vote at a public meeting because they were filling an existing position.

Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, disagreed. She said the hiring was an official act and should have been ratified at a public meeting.

The commissioners have offered to authorize the hiring at their next meeting.

Hiring a county employee is a duty split between the commissioners and the county's salary board, Snyder County Commissioner Joe Kantz said.

"That is to create a balance of power," he said.

Salary board members create and eliminate positions and also determine salary. Kantz said the commissioners review applications and vote on job positions at their public meetings.

Snyder County commissioners are working with a search committee to hire a director of emergency services.

"We have six people from the public (on the search committee) and we're going to involve them to a certain degree," Kantz said. The ultimate decision of who will be hired as emergency services director will be determined by the commissioners.

New positions are created at Union County salary board meetings, which are monthly and open to the public. If, for instance, members want a new county secretary, they have to budget and plan for the position at a public session. But the interview process and the actual hiring itself takes place behind closed doors.

Union County Commissioner John Showers said: "Whenever a new opening is made, created, a vacancy occurs -- we first have to advertise that position to all our employees. They get three days' jump notice on every position before its made public, then we advertise the positions in the newspaper and put them on our Web site."

The hiring that may occur is dependent on the position and generally does not come before the regular board meeting, Showers said. The creation of the position comes about as a board meeting, but the actual hiring is not ratified at a (public) meeting.

The commissioners do talk about position they're creating in public meetings. However, interviews and the decision of whom to hire are done in private and not made public until an offer is made. The offer must be made before references are checked, he said.