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10/25/2005: "BOCC Takes Step Toward a County Manager"

( BOCC at temporary meeting place discuss hiring a County Manager

It has been a long time coming, and there is no assurance it is going to happen, but the BOCC has taken the first serious step toward hiring a county manager. Today, 10-25-05, The Board authorized the county staff to proceed on a time table that, if followed, would have a manager in place by May of 2006.

The Board agreed by consensus that a manager (and the Board clerk) would report directly to the Board, that the manager position would have a financial role, and the budget should include a line item for the position with a $124,000.00 amount assigned. The role of the manager tentatively agreed to, is less than would be the case with a manager (called a County Administrator in the Charter) under the proposal by the Freeholders, which will grant greater authority to the position.

The next step will be a scheduled "work sessions with Elected Officials and Department Heads to discuss position descriptions, budget proposal, overall transition", and an opportunity for the public to observe and comment. It is hoped to have the first workshop in November.


The call for a county manager goes at least as far back as the 1984 Commissioner race when the question of hiring a manager was part of the campaign dialog. in that race Jim Desermeaux, Bill Hewitt, Jim Fox, Doug Corliss, and the Guardian's very own Jack Cory were the candidates, and all but Desermeaux were in favor of a county manager. Corliss went on to win the race, and from at least that point on, and perhaps even before, the question of should the County hire a manager has been steadily increasing in visibility in each election year, and in each administration.

The last big push came from Commissioner Nielsen; and even John Evans ran as a supporter of a manger in one of his campaigns, but failed to act on it or support Nielsen when the question came up.

And then came the election of the Freeholders, and the promise of a county manager, if only the voters will pass the Charter. Many Court house observers, and some freeholders, have expressed concern that if the BOCC were to suddenly hire a manager, it might turn the tide against the charter, and its built-in requirement for a manager. (Former story "If BOCC Hires County Manager, End Of Freeholder Concept?" Adding to the pressure for a manager has been the growing support from county employees and consultants for, if not a manager, at least someone to work as a sort of executive officer to help with the budget, and make sure there is an unified front from the BOCC to the elected and appointed department heads on what the Board policies and wishes of the Board are.

If it will now happen will depend on how the work sessions go, and or course if the Charter passes or not, for if it does pass, the current action by the BOCC will be only of historical interest, and San Juan County will have a new form of government, and, at long last, a County Administrator.