PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County commissioners tentatively have scheduled an executive session at 8 a.m. June 27 to review feedback from department heads and other elected officials on five finalists for replacing Administrator Rich Sill.
The candidates will be interviewed by a six-person panel that will include Commissioner Randy Johnson, two members of the public selected by the other commissioners, Sill or a department head and two county representatives. The applicants also will tour the county with a department head or manager.
The applicants’ names are not being released due to privacy concerns.
“When a conditional offer is made to the final, selected candidate — we will release that name,” Brenda Wenzl from the county’s human resources department wrote in an email.
The county’s job posting stated the person “will need to have demonstrated knowledge of finance and budgetary best practices and planning principles, as well as the ability to identify new revenue streams.” It also stated “intergovernmental relations skills will be essential.”
Panel interviews for the five finalists will occur on June 22, Human Resources Deputy Director Tom Reyes said in a Monday afternoon email.
“On Friday, June 23, these same five finalists will be evaluated during a tour of Clallam County,” Reyes said. “For this purpose, ten (10) representatives (two (2) per applicant) from within the organization (department head and/or manager) will be assigned to each applicant.
“The final process will occur on Tuesday, June 27. An executive session will be held for purposes of reviewing applicant credentials and testing results/feedback.
“The Board will come out of executive session and decide if a conditional job offer is to be made to an applicant, or, if additional testing is needed.
“The top applicant’s name will not be released until after the conditional job offer has been accepted. HR will then conduct a thorough background investigation on the selected applicant.”
Commissioner Mike French said if they were replacing one of the commissioners, they would want to do it in public. But with the administrator, it might be a different process.
“(June 27) is the date we would want to target for everyone who participates in the tours or as part of the interview panel,” Commissioner Mark Ozias said.
“All five finalists will have a basic background check to vet social media, educational credentials, etc.,” Ozias wrote in a Monday email.
“Once a conditional offer of employment has been made to one of the finalists, our HR team will do some more thorough vetting, according to our normal process.”
Reyes said he would see if the applicants can meet that timeline and get back to the commissioners.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@soundpublishing.com.
