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SEVERANCE PAY Jackson County assessor signed $28,531 severance pay agreement Payment conditioned on Gibson's resignation Comment By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Feb. 8, 2016 at 5:16 PM Updated Feb 8, 2016 at 9:37 PM By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Feb. 8, 2016 at 5:16 PM Updated Feb 8, 2016 at 9:37 PM » Social News Former Jackson County Assessor Josh Gibson signed an agreement to receive a $28,531 severance payment that was conditioned on his resignation, according to a claims release agreement he signed with county officials. The severance payment was in addition to Gibson's regular wages and benefits, according to the agreement. In a letter submitted to the county in mid-November, Gibson resigned his position effective Dec. 31, citing health issues and his desire to spend more time with his children. He refused to say whether an incident in which he publicly urinated on a golf course during an outing with assessor and appraisal colleagues played a role. Gibson also declined to say whether he had been pressured to resign by county officials. Gibson signed and dated the claims release agreement on Dec. 8 and Jackson County Administrator Danny Jordan signed and dated the agreement on Dec. 15. The agreement was also approved by Jackson County Counsel Joel Benton without a date. Jordan was out of the office Monday and Benton declined to comment. Gibson said he cannot say anything negative or disparaging about the county as part of the severance agreement. He wrote in an email, "I will say that I was not the one who initiated the resignation talk or severance idea." In the severance agreement, a lump-sum payment to be paid by the county by Jan. 6 was conditioned on Gibson having resigned and vacated the office of county assessor effective Dec. 31. Both sides agreed to give up any rights to sue each other over Gibson's job as assessor or his resignation. The two sides also agreed not to make any disparaging or negative comments about each other in any format, including on social media. Gibson previously said he went in for surgery on Nov. 19 and still did not have medical clearance from his physician to work as of late December. He collected his full annual salary of $99,674 through December, according to documents provided by the county after a public records request. Gibson previously said in an email that he continued to track his emails and phone messages while he was out, and also to work on a statewide project to revamp the appraiser education system. As for the golf course incident, Gibson previously said he went golfing with several other assessor and appraisal professionals from around the state during the Oregon State Association of County Assessors 2015 Summer Conference, held Aug. 10-13 in Hood River. The group was composed of men and one woman, Jo Wright, who currently works as the chief deputy assessor for Jackson County. Gibson acknowledged he urinated on the golf course, but denied rumors that he exposed himself. "I did urinate in the bushes away from the group," he said in an email. "I will emphatically deny that anyone was exposed to my genitalia, but the group could probably tell that I was urinating." Gibson said there were no bathrooms around, and in hindsight he should have waited or taken the golf cart somewhere to find a restroom. Wright declined to comment about the incident or Gibson's resignation. Following Gibson's resignation, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners tasked Wright with performing the duties of the county assessor. She is not running for county assessor during the May 17 primary election. Jackson County Lead Appraiser David Arrasmith, Jackson County Lead Appraiser Angela Stuhr, Jackson County Project/Program Coordinator Ruth Staten and Jackson County Property Appraiser Michael Wright are vying for the assessor's position in the primary. Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-776-4486 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous . By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Feb. 8, 2016 at 5:16 PM Updated Feb 8, 2016 at 9:37 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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