GUEST OPINION
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The allegations by Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll regarding the fixing of county contracts and patronage jobs is sensational reading.
It is also pure fiction. It is no secret that Carroll would prefer that I not be the county administrator. But county and city managers are hired and fired by a majority of the governing body, not by an individual member.
Comparing Pima County to Tammany Hall does a real disservice to dedicated, loyal, public employees of the county.
The county has had a merit system for personnel selection since 1974. This system works. County employees are hard-working, honest individuals.
Carroll complains of "no-bid contracts, abuse of restricted funds and ghost payrolls." Regarding "no-bid contracts," I assume Carroll is referring to professional-service contracts for architects and engineers.
State law prohibits the use of a competitive bidding process for professional-service contracts.
Pima County, like our state government and every other Arizona county, relies on a qualifications-based bid process. When hiring professionals, we want the best, most qualified firm, not necessarily the cheapest.
Regarding "ghost payrolls," I assume Carroll is referring to the former aide of Supervisor Raul Grijalva.
Rather than endure the politically motivated accusations of Carroll, Ruben Reyes resigned from his county position and received no county funds for his work, despite the placement over the years of at least 19 former aides and staff of former supervisors in county employment.
These staff members have all successfully contributed to county public service. Many have even retired from county service.
To characterize former or even present supervisors' aides and staffers as unproductive political ghosts does a disservice to the most difficult job of being a county supervisor's staffer.
I can only guess that the reference to "restricted funds" is the legitimate and board-approved temporary lending of surplus wastewater funds to Kino Community Hospital. These funds have all been repaid, with interest.
This well-documented transaction has always been a matter of public record and was openly discussed at meetings of the board, which Carroll attended.
Dissent, comment and criticism of the county and my job as county administrator are welcomed.
It is healthy, since it allows continual review of policies, procedures and programs for modification and improvement.
It should also be noted that whistle-blowers in the county are protected by code and by state law. The present whistle-blower protection granted county employees is founded in state law, and it is as strong as state law permits.
The revisions to the procurement code that I suggested and the board adopted in November 1998 came after biased ratings were received from a staff selection panel the first time a new process for consultant selection was used. The revisions I suggested do not change or even modify any ratings, even if they are biased.
What they do is make the ratings public, which opens internal bureaucracies to public scrutiny, something I believe is healthy. The current code strictly follows state law.
Further, the code does not allow me to change the department recommendation-only to forward to the board of supervisors a separate recommendation from myself as county administrator, if I believe such is necessary.
Such a process has never been used since the code was modified in November 1998. Based on the present policy, no recommendation from any department director has ever been changed.
Other modifications to the policy eliminated potential staff and private conflicts of interest, ensured that evaluation documents are public records and disclosed erratic panel member scores. These improvements contribute to an open government.
Regarding my employment contract, yes, I have a contract. All professional county administrators and city managers should have a contract with their employers to avoid the kind of political pressure that an individual or less than a majority of the members of a political body could attempt to exert.
The governing body, in this case the board of supervisors, has the right to select any individual it chooses as its county administrator.
If the majority requests my resignation, it will be tendered with no questions or arguments - such reflects a professional relationship with the governing board.
Finally, Carroll needs to understand that there is no administrative branch of government. There are the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
In local county government, the board of supervisors, the elected representatives of the county, function as both the executive and legislative branches.
As such, they are, in fact, in control of the county. I am employed to carry out their policy direction.
The policy direction of any elected body, whether it is the Legislature or Congress, is set by majority opinion, not the voice of a single member - that is the way democracies work.
Using inflammatory language such as "culture of corruption" confirms Carroll's concern for the taxpayer is, frankly, a thinly disguised witch hunt.
I welcome any investigation by any independent law enforcement agency - always have, always will.
I will also fully cooperate with any citizen body, such as the present procurement committee, as well as the independent national expert now reviewing our procurement process. The more facts and the less innuendo, the better.
Pima County is a great place to work. Staff members are dedicated and hard-working. They honestly care about everyone in this community - young, old, rich and poor - and they should not be subjected to these unfounded accusations.
Chuck Huckelberry is Pima County's administrator.
