The Jefferson County Commissioners on March 6 2025 presenting a 10 year service award to Nathan Cochran, the Commission’s staff attorney (pictured left to right, County Administrator Edwina Benites-LM, Commissioner Jack Hefestay, Commissioner Mike Mood, Commissioner Pasha Majdi, Cochran, Commissioner Cara Keys, Commissioner Steve Stolipher).
Jefferson County residents are questioning a recent County Commission decision they say reduces government transparency. On March 6, the commissioners voted unanimously to change the way it advertises open positions on county boards, commissions and committees.
The requirements for two week notice and advertising in the local newspaper were removed from the Commission’s appointments policy (#901). The Observer reviewed the March 6 meeting video and the material included in the meeting packet. It appears that the five commissioners voted to revise policy 901 without reviewing or discussing the specific changes that eliminated the notice and newspaper advertising requirements.
During the same meeting, the commissioners also reviewed changes to its agenda policy (#900), which governs how it sets its agenda. For that discussion, the commissioners had both the old and new versions of the policies available to review and all of the substantive changes were highlighted during the discussion. For the appointments policy (#900), only the new version was included in the meeting packet and the only discussion was about how the commissioners would pre-select candidates to interview.
On March 20, the Commission made a further revision to the appointments policy (#901) to indicate that any residency and political affiliation requirements will be verified by referencing an applicant’s voter registration record. This revision was reviewed and discussed by the commissioners before they voted to approve the change.
Policy 901 Revision History
The prior version of policy #901, adopted by the County Commission in June 2014, specified that “the Commission Staff shall advertise that applications [for open positions] are being accepted, at the appropriate times, a minimum of two weeks for expiring terms through the County’s website, email alerts, local government Cable Channel 17, and the newspaper(s) of record.”
The version of policy #901 adopted by the County Commission in March 2025 removes the requirement to advertise on the county website, the local government cable channel (which the county staff has reported as defunct), and the Spirit of Jefferson (the local newspaper of record). The 2025 revisions approved by the County Commission also change the notice about expiring terms and remove the county staff’s responsibility for maintaining a list of members and expiration dates for the board, commission and committee seats for which the County Commission has a responsibility to fill.
Along with the appointments policy revised in March 2025,, the Commission also adopted a new “mission agreement” that outlines the County Commission’s expectation that all appointed individuals will maintain the “highest standards of professionalism, accountability, and service to the community.”
In the 2014 version of Policy #901, the advertising requirements can be found on page 1 of the document. In the 2025 versions, the advertising requirements can be found on page 3 of the document. Copies of the county policies can be downloaded as PDF documents via the links below:
- Policy 901 (2014 Jun 19)
- Policy 901 (2014 June 19) – 2025 deletions highlighted
- Policy 901 (2025 March 6)
- Policy 901 (2025 March 20)
The Observer has invited each of the commissioners to explain how this action is consistent with their stated commitments to improving the transparency of local government.
By Steve Pearson