A proposal to move the supervision of the county weed and zoning department to the county attorney’s office was met with arguments and revealed that three commissioners may have violated the Open Meetings Act.
The the Seward County Commissioners discussed the department restructure Oct. 30. No official action was taken and the board will discuss the issue again at its Nov. 20 meeting.
Background
Becky Paulsen is the administrator for the zoning and weed control department—a position that is appointed by the commissioners. She holds status as a department head.
On Oct. 1, she was appointed to fill former commissioner Diana Garske’s seat after Garske resigned at the end of September.
By state statute, a three-member board consisting of the county clerk, county attorney and county treasurer interview and select commissioner appointees through an application process when a seat opens mid-term. Garske’s seat is not up for re-election until 2020.
At the meeting to appoint the new commissioner, Board Chairperson Roger Glawatz and County Attorney Wendy Elston opposed naming Paulsen to the board, citing concerns that Paulsen is also a department head, which could create conflicts of interest.
County Treasurer Bob Dahms said the county board has shown favoritism toward the attorney’s office and said Paulsen would be fair in her decision making.
County Clerk Sherry Schweitzer said she believed Paulsen was the best person for the job.
Paulsen was appointed by a 2-1 vote, with Elston voting against.
Oct. 30 meeting
At the Oct. 30 meeting, Glawatz explained he added the proposal to move the weed and zoning department to the agenda.
He said Commissioner John Culver is the liaison to the zoning office, and therefore responsible for evaluating Paulsen’s performance as the department’s administrator.
By moving the zoning department, board members would not be responsible for Paulsen’s evaluation.
He also brought up Paulsen having potential conflicts of interest as both the zoning administrator and a commissioner.
Paulsen recuses herself from the county board when zoning issues or matters concerning her department are brought forward
Discussion on this agenda item included comments from elected officials against the change. The discussion also revealed that Glawatz, Culver, Paulsen and Elston met outside of public meeting on Oct. 26 to discuss the matter.
Information on the Oct. 26 meeting can be found HERE and the Oct. 30 meeting recap can be found HERE.
amanda@sewardindependent.com
