Optional Forms County Gov't

[Carol Alexander <carola@idaho.tds.net>]

Concerning the discussion to the county manager form of government I believe that a few more points need to be brought out.
1.The small size of Latah county is going to attract two types of candidates for the manager position:
      a) Someone  who is looking for experience before moving on, the most           likely candidate, or
      b) someone who is so grossly incompetent that you couldn't afford
           to hire them.
My feeling is that the first type won't be staying more than 18-36 months
and that the management expertise and  professional administration  that this change is supposed to bring  will rarely develop.  A manager that is more concerned with their  resume than  with the long term interests of the county is not someone that appeals to me.

2. Changing to a manager form does not preclude the citizenry from having to select knowledgable, competent commissioners. Since the commissioners would be responsible for hiring the manager and evaluating the job performance they still need to have a good working  knowledge of what is going  on in the departments.  If they have that  information  they should be  able to do the administration themselves.

3)  On a practical note , state law requires that the change take place  within 60 days after the decision of the electorate. How do you realistically expect  the commissioners to conduct  a proper search, hire a manager, and have that person hire the new department heads during the holiday season with no budgeted money?
Bob Hassoldt
Kendrick
hassoldt@moscow.com