Help Needed

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
Having witnessed for more than a year now how much more efficiently and effectively Hillsboro city government functions with an effective city administrator managing day-to-day operations, we’re ready to suggest that our county commissioners strongly consider creating a similar administrative position at that level of government, too.

Our suggestion isn’t intended to as a criticism of the current commissioners or staff, but as an observation that public service is growing increasingly complex. Staying on top of those complexities demands the kind of focused, consistent attention that elected officials simply cannot deliver through once-a-week meetings.

The key task of elected officials, whether at the city or county level, is to set policy and direction for their respective staff and programs. Overseeing those staff and implementing those programs are best done by one person vested with the authority to make decisions day to day that are based on intimate familiarity with the issues involved, and having the appropriate management skills and training to apply that knowledge effectively.

Instead of elected officials who can easily become mired in minutia of myriad independent departments, an effective administrator could free them to provide what voters truly need from them: visionary, bold leadership.

Let’s make the move. -DR

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