PORT ANGELES — Clallam County faces a $1.1 million increase in retirement payments even as it confronts a $400,000 loss in sales tax revenue — and Jim Jones can’t wait to tackle the problem.
Jones becomes the county’s full-fledged administrator today after 2½ weeks of understudying the job.
He’ll have two weeks to prepare his county charter-mandated mid-year budget message.
Just let him at it.
“Interesting, varied and hard choices — I just thrive on them,” he said Wednesday.
Jones is one of those improbable people who really sees difficulties as challenges and problems as opportunities.
He looks back over his career — pilot training in the Air Force, real estate sales, bank management and school district administration — and concludes they all were paths to one place.
“I can draw a straight line from everything I’ve ever done directly to this job,” he said.
Jones knows it will take awhile to emerge from Dan Engelbertson’s shadow.
The retiring administrator helped guide Clallam County through a time of shrinking timber revenue that resulted in layoffs and a 37.5-hour work week for most employees.
Jones, however, faces realities that aren’t any rosier.
