Schmutzler leaving big void

Cole County needs a new 'guardian' after 17 years

Marilyn Schmutzler
Marilyn Schmutzler

Help wanted: Seeking a caring individual with a sharp mind to make responsible, fair decisions for Cole County residents who can't care for themselves and have no one to care for them.

Marilyn Schmutzler, the county's public administrator, has quietly done those duties for the past 17 years in the unsung position, but voters on Nov. 8 will choose her successor when she retires in January.

Her successor will be determined Nov. 8 when Republican Joe Kuensting and Democrat Jean Schwaller face off on the general election ballot.

Schmutzler was tapped for the position by Gov. Mel Carnahan in 1999 after previous administrators had cycled in and out of the job. She promised Carnahan she would campaign for one term, but she was re-elected to four four-year terms.

Her previous work experience had been working in area law offices for 40 years. She said that legal background prepared her for a lot of what she had to do.

When she first became Cole County public administrator, she had just over 100 clients. Currently, she is the guardian or conservator of 239 Cole County residents.

As public administrator, her primary responsibility is to be the guardian for those the court determines in need of assistance, whether it's an aging resident, a disabled person, the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled, as well as those who suffer from brain injury, dementia or Alzheimer's.

In short, her clients have no one else to care for them.

Agencies like Pathways and New Horizons can only do so much to help patients, Schmutzler explained, because clients must voluntarily accept their services. When people get to a point where they are a danger to themselves, the agencies ask for the public administrator's office to file for legal guardianship or conservatorship.

The judicial system makes the call.

According to Missouri law, the duty of a public administrator is to take charge and custody of the estates of all deceased persons, and the person and estates of all minors and incapacitated people when circumstances demand it.

As public administrator, Schmutzler ensures each of her clients has a safe place to live, food to eat and medical care. Her team ensures their bills are paid and they have small allowances to spend. Many of her charges live in residential care facilities, assisted living settings, group homes and skilled nursing homes. It's her responsibility to sell their houses, if necessary, or auction off their belongings.

"These people want to be as independent as possible," Schmutzler said. "The majority of them work."

It's not always an easy task to care for someone else's needs. And not every client voluntarily surrenders his or her freedom.

"Sometimes I'm the bad guy," Schmutzler said.

Keeping up with all of the clients' needs is a full-time job, she said. She has a staff of five employees - three full-time and two part-time. Her salary is $59,439 a year.

Serving as public administrator is not a job for someone who simply wants a nice title or a good salary. It takes someone with a caring heart, she said.

"It's a very difficult, serious job," she said.

A case from her early years as public administrator illustrates her point.

A 66-year-old Jefferson City man died in a house fire April 5, 2000. Following his death, authorities were unable to locate any of his family members; Schmutzler was appointed the personal representative of the estate.

She discovered he was a former employee of the Missouri Department of Labor's Employment Security division. In talking with his former co-workers, she discovered he had never talked about relatives except for his parents, who preceded him in death.

She searched for relatives for 10 months, finding some 100 cousins, ranging from second to seventh. All of the cousins admitted they hadn't kept in contact with him, and they didn't know where a will or paperwork might be.

"I kept thinking that there had to be a will somewhere," Schmutzler said.

That hunch was confirmed in January 2001 when her office received a bill from a bank in Moberly. Rental for a safety deposit box was due.

The man actually had two safety deposit boxes there. The boxes were drilled open, and his will and numerous other documents were found.

The will named a Kansas man as the sole legatee. Schmutzler filed the will with Cole County Probate Court, and she called the man.