PORT TOWNSEND — The retirement of two Jefferson County department heads this fall is being characterized as “both a loss and an opportunity” by the county administrator.
Carl Smith, Department of Community Development director, will retire Sept. 25 after three years on the job while Central Services Director Frank Gifford, 64, will retire Oct. 30 after two years in the position.
Gifford’s current annual salary is $102,330. The range for the new position is between $76,272 and $102,324.
Smith, 65, currently earns $90,353, with his successor to earn between $70,831 and $95,151.
The application deadline for the central services job is Sept. 21. The deadline for the DCD, director application closes Sept. 28.
Smith was first hired by Jefferson County to head DCD while Gifford has worked for the county in several jobs since 1989.
“Frank has been with the county for many years and has done all sorts of things,” County Administrator Philip Morley said.
“We will miss his historical knowledge, but when people retire, others can come in and bring a fresh approach.”
Morley credits Smith with introducing lean training into the department and streamlining its permit process, something he hopes the next director will continue.
The characteristics of a lean organization were described in Lean Thinking, by Jim Womack, founder of the Lean Enterprise Institute, and Dan Jones, founder of the Lean Enterprise Academy.
It is an organizational strategy intended to improve customer service while decreasing waste.
The next DCD director will focus on the upcoming comprehensive plan revision due next year, Morley said, as well as promoting economic development.
“The new director will be looking at how to marry agriculture with critical areas protection and also further develop DCD’s partnership with Public Works,” Morley said.
The new director also will supervise the development of areas such as Port Hadlock and Glen Cove, he said.
Morley said the Central Services position, which manages facilities, equipment and technology, will not change appreciably, although he hopes the new director will become involved in management of properties that the county has not used to its full potential.
“We have a portfolio of properties that we haven’t been able to do much with since the recession,” Morley said.
“We are not sure whether we want to surplus them or put them to another use.”
Morley provided two examples: some property adjacent to Fire District No. 5 in Discovery Bay and the Bayshore Motel in Brinnon.
The selection process for the respective jobs will differ in terms of public involvement.
Selecting a DCD director will be open to community input, while the central services position will be decided internally, Morley said.
“With the DCD position, we will shape the process around the kinds of applicants we get,” he said.
Gifford began with the county as capital projects manager in 1989 and served as public works director from 1999 to 2013, at which time he assumed his current position.
He also acted as temporary interim county administrator prior to Morley’s appointment in 2008.
“We have a better process now,” Gifford said, in a comparison to when he joined the county.
“We have become more structured and systematic. Although we’ve been up and down financially, we are in good shape now because [Morley] has been conservative, but we don’t have the reserves we had when we received more revenue from the real estate excise tax.”
After his retirement, Gifford plans to explore meditation and yoga as a path to relaxation and will take a few months off before tackling new projects.
Smith, who lives in Quilcene, said he plans to seek new opportunities as a planning consultant and will stay involved with the local community through volunteer work.
In an email, he said he is proud of the improvements made at DCD during his tenure as director “through the dedicated efforts of the staff from the lean training and the culture of continuous improvement now at DCD.
“The effort is paying off with improved processes that are showing results in faster permitting times and improved customer service,” he said.
Existing staff will have input into the hiring for both positions, Morley said.
While Morley will consider input from staff, the public and the county commissioners during the selection process, the final choice is his own.
Aside from DCD and Central Services, Morley supervises department heads in Public Works, Emergency Management and Public Health.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
