Commissioners want more talk on assessor's staff

Not so fast, Wahkiakum County commissioners said Tuesday about Assessor Bill Coon's hiring of extra clerical help to deal with demands on his department.

Last week, Coons had informed the commissioners that he was going to bring in a clerical assistant on a contractual basis to help the office clear up errors on tax statements that were just mailed to taxpayers.

Commissioners Lisa Marsyla and Dan Cothren were unhappy with the plan. They felt the person would be an employee, not a contracted worker, and only the board of commissioners can authorize the addition of employees to the county payroll.

They sought an analysis from Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow, who said the person could be hired either as a contractor or an employee.

This week, Coons, who was in Seattle Tuesday at a software training class, submitted a written request to create a new line in the assessor's budget to handle the expense, and after discussing the matter, the commissioners put off a vote till next week so they could discuss it with Coons present.

Both Cothren and Marsyla expressed misgivings about the hiring.

Cothren said the board had reduced funding for county office staff over the past few years, and the board has rejected pleas from other department heads for funding for more staff.

"I wish he were here so we could talk face to face," Cothren said.

"The issue I had, ...he went out and hired. It was never my intention to use professional fees to pay for extra help.

"You can see it in the faces of the other department heads. We have been tough...It sends a bad message. It really opens the door. Been there, done that. It comes back to haunt you. I just feel I'm not willing to grant this extra help item."

Marsyla agreed. "It appears that he hired irrespective of what the commissioners thought," she said. "The two panic items appear to have been solved. It's not fair; I'd like to see a real true list of what he needs."

Both objected to Coons' intention to use funds from the professional fees budget line to cover the expense.

Marsyla said the funds were there to cover expenses related to the implementation of a new computer program. If they're not used for that, she said, the money should go to the Current Expense Fund, which will have a shortfall this year.

Cothren agreed, saying he hadn't intended that use when the board drafted the budget.

"I could have scrutinized that way back," he said. "If this is going to be the case, I'll scrutinize way tougher in the future."

Commissioner Blair Brady suggested the board not act in haste, and that they might need to consult with the prosecuting attorney about the matter.

Commissioners said they would discuss the matter with Coons at next week's meeting.

Later in the day over the telephone, Coons said he thought he had followed proper procedure. He had checked with the prosecuting attorney and with the county's payroll clerk and concluded he, as an elected official, could administer his budget to contract with a person for temporary clerical work.

"I have the money in the budget, and this is the way I'd like to spend it," he said.

He acknowledged that as a newly elected official, he's going through an educational process.

"We all have to open our minds," he said. "Maybe there's a way to fund this. Maybe I'm not seeing something, and maybe they're not seeing the problem."

Previous Assessor Sulema Zerr frequently lobbied commissioners for funding for extra help. Commissioners restored a part-time clerk back to full time in the budget for this year, but Coons said the department is still behind schedule.

Without the employee, "I would fall further out of compliance with the law, and I don't know where to begin," he said. "I would ask the Department of Revenue to speed up its performance audit, and we could make recommendations to the commissioners."

Coons said he had an emergency in his department about two weeks ago when he learned that some tax statements were going out with incorrect, extremely high assessments. Having the temporary clerk would allow staff to correct the errors and work with taxpayers.

"We're getting a handle on it," he said. "It just drove me crazy to send out tax bills that are wrong."