On March 2nd, The World published a brief, two sentences, letter to the editor that was written by a wise business man, decorated vet, Myrtle Point rancher, and former Coos County Commissioner candidate Don Gurney. Let me elaborate. Do the county commissioners fear their 63,000 Coos County citizen employers? It appears that at least two of the three commissioners have again slapped the face of the citizens.
Not long ago, a majority of voting Coos County citizens spoke in a loud voice and told the commissioners that they did not want a county administrator position created with an anointed and unelected person leading a fiefdom; a position with enormous power overseeing consolidated county organizations. The three commissioners were hired to roll up their sleeves and be a working board of commissioners carrying a heavy load; they knew the job requirements before they applied for a job; they were not elected to hire a person with a wheelbarrow to carry the load for them.
Four months after the fact we learned that the county commissioners apparently rejected the citizen’s direction and last September or October, apparently with minimal transparency, operating in what they labeled a “worksession” (sic), without prior notice to the citizens of their specific intent, they created a thinly disguised county administrator that they labeled a Finance / Personnel Services Director. Then, apparently with minimal notice to the people, in what many believe to be a charade, they sought candidates to fill the new position, settling on their apparent preordained candidate; a candidate that may be superb at what they currently do as a county employee, but apparently without verifiable experience in many of the job requirements for Finance Director, a position similar to corporate CFO, or Personnel Services Director. Although the selected candidate does not appear to meet many of the posted Finance Director requirements, they did receive a 40% pay raise.
Depending on which commissioner people have communicated with regarding this matter, all of this occurred on different dates between late September and late January, at different times, in different meetings without prior notice or published meeting minutes, with different commissioners voting aye and no. And, depending on who is elected county treasurer, the commissioners are not done. Furious folks are preparing ballot initiatives prohibiting the commissioners from ever making final decisions outside of public meetings, except in valid “emergency” situations.
Every week should be Sunshine Week.
Fred Kirby
Coos Bay
Not long ago, a majority of voting Coos County citizens spoke in a loud voice and told the commissioners that they did not want a county administrator position created with an anointed and unelected person leading a fiefdom; a position with enormous power overseeing consolidated county organizations. The three commissioners were hired to roll up their sleeves and be a working board of commissioners carrying a heavy load; they knew the job requirements before they applied for a job; they were not elected to hire a person with a wheelbarrow to carry the load for them.
Four months after the fact we learned that the county commissioners apparently rejected the citizen’s direction and last September or October, apparently with minimal transparency, operating in what they labeled a “worksession” (sic), without prior notice to the citizens of their specific intent, they created a thinly disguised county administrator that they labeled a Finance / Personnel Services Director. Then, apparently with minimal notice to the people, in what many believe to be a charade, they sought candidates to fill the new position, settling on their apparent preordained candidate; a candidate that may be superb at what they currently do as a county employee, but apparently without verifiable experience in many of the job requirements for Finance Director, a position similar to corporate CFO, or Personnel Services Director. Although the selected candidate does not appear to meet many of the posted Finance Director requirements, they did receive a 40% pay raise.
Depending on which commissioner people have communicated with regarding this matter, all of this occurred on different dates between late September and late January, at different times, in different meetings without prior notice or published meeting minutes, with different commissioners voting aye and no. And, depending on who is elected county treasurer, the commissioners are not done. Furious folks are preparing ballot initiatives prohibiting the commissioners from ever making final decisions outside of public meetings, except in valid “emergency” situations.
Every week should be Sunshine Week.
Fred Kirby
Coos Bay
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