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Commissioners say they earn it Jim Craven photo Even those who disagree with the officials admit they work hard By Dani Dodge The job of being a county commissioner is as broad as the spectrum of personalities elected to the position. Application requirements are minimal: live in the county a year and be a registered voter. There�s only a vague job description. And except in exceptional circumstances, those hired have to answer to a boss only once every four years. "There�s no rules for a county commissioner. No set-in-stone policies," said three-term Commissioner Ric Holt. "The only thing a county commissioner has to do is show up for a Wednesday meeting if he wants to." Last month, the Jackson County commissioners approved a 6 percent pay raise suggested by the three lay members of the budget committee. As of July, they will make $58,052. Current commissioners say they work hard for the money, and even some of their critics who take issue with the commissioners� styles and stances don�t quibble over the hours they put in or the salary they earn. Commissioners note that enormous responsibility comes with the job: The commissioners set the policies for 174,550 people in Jackson County, an area that covers 2,801 square miles. Present and past commissioners say the job takes 40 to 75 hours a week. "The job is as involved and comprehensive as the individual who is in the job," said Commissioner Sue Kupillas, who is seeking her fourth term. "It could include anything from major broad county issues like regional planning and air quality and transportation, to very specific programs like, say, the sports park, the trains and teen pregnancy prevention. "But underlying the whole thing, we still pay attention to administration of the county." The biggest responsibility is the budget, Kupillas said. On Wednesday, the commissioners will give final approval to the $171 million budget that includes their raises. Their vote to raise pay for themselves and other managers drew fire last month when it came at the same time the county�s 14 historical societies were hit with big budget cuts. The commissioners, who earn $54,767 this year, have received several raises of up to 9 percent in the previous five years. Since 1995, the commissioners� salary has increased 25 percent, partially in an attempt to put the commissioners in the midrange of what their counterparts in similar-sized counties make across the state, and partially to keep their salaries from falling too far below other management positions in the county. The budget the commissioners will approve includes salaries for 51 other employees who make more than the county commissioners and who received 3 percent cost-of-living raises. The highest-paid county employee is actually the county psychiatrist, who makes $135,304 working in the mental health department. The director of the Southern Oregon Historical Society � who is not a county employee � makes $58,323. While some former commissioners criticized the current board for taking raises during a time of economic uncertainty, most say commissioners work hard for their money and are not necessarily overpaid. "I think voting to increase your own salary when you are voting to cut services is not something I can fully support," said former commissioner Jeff Golden. "And it�s certainly not going to build support for county services." And yet, Golden recalls working 75-hour weeks. "There�s a mind-boggling number of meetings," said Golden, who served from 1987 to 1991. "Although I don�t think the time obligation is well defined. I�ve seen 20-hour-a-week commissioners and 80-hour-a-week commissioners." Even those who disagree politically with the current commissioners � such as Ramona Osburn of the Jackson County Citizen�s League � say the board members put a lot of effort into their jobs. "I think they work hard, yes," Osburn said. "They do a lot of things, but our group doesn�t agree with what they do." When Peter Sage became a commissioner in 1981, he took a voluntary pay cut to protest some pay raises the commissioners had given themselves. After four years on the job, though, he reflected that "politicizing the raise" wasn�t the right thing to do. Having lower-to-middle managers making more than the commissioners was a problem, and in some departments, people wouldn�t take a promotion because it meant a pay cut and less job security. "In 1983 and 1984 the lesson came out: You can please people on the radio shows, but you create chaos in the organization if you don�t pay enough," Sage said. Former three-term county commissioner Hank Henry said it�s never easy voting on your own raise. "They�ve always been controversial," Henry said. "I don�t know how you handle it gracefully." And yet, commissioners can work as many hours as there are in a day. "It�s a wide-open, freewheeling job," Henry said. "It�s a situation that can take all your time and then some." And not all that time is spent in the county. Commissioners travel all over the state and even to Washington, D.C., lobbying on issues such as getting federal money to replace lost timber revenues. "One of the things we can�t evaluate at all is how effective they are in lobbying outside the county, which is terribly time-consuming and hard on your body," said former commissioner Tam Moore. "My opinion is they are doing a good job." Jackson County commissioners estimate 30 percent of their time goes to county meetings; 30 percent to neighborhood meetings or other group meetings; and the rest to dealing with the public as sort of ombudsmen. The freedom of the job gives commissioners the chance to pursue policies close to their heart. Holt says he likes to concentrate on bigger policies like economic development as well as smaller concerns such as bringing back passenger trains. He tried to bring attention to the problems with the gasoline additive MTBE and helped forge a solution to the loss of county timber funds. "If all we did was sit and handle all the liaison meetings, it would be a cakewalk," Holt said. "But that�s not what it is about. This is the most energetic board we�ve ever had. "We�ve brought in more money and saved more businesses than any other board." For Commissioner Jack Walker, that freedom means trying to make government work like a business. Since joining the board six years ago, he�s been the guy who works most closely with department heads. He says he�s tried to make the parks department self-sufficient, helping drop operating costs from about $1 million a year to $250,000. The change shifts the burden of paying for parks to those who use the parks, he said. "We now have three of the top 10-rated county parks in the state," Walker said. "And it�s costing less to operate. "Those are the philosophies we are working on now." During her tenure, Kupillas has been the board member who takes on hard-to-understand environmental issues as well as teen pregnancy prevention. She�s worked on integrating public services to help those in need, and making White City � an unincorporated urban area � a better place for those who live there. Her colleagues consider her the expert on timber, water and regional land-use planning. Kupillas said the commissioners also take on an important political role in the county. It�s up to them to pull together regional planning efforts and look at long-range issues affecting all those in the county. "We have very broad powers in this office," Kupillas said. "Some we are forced by law and some we do for the good of the community � we don�t necessarily love to take on aggregate pits, yet it�s an issue someone has to settle so we end up settling it. "That�s why this becomes such a responsible job, because you have to make some significant decisions that aren�t always popular. " Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. 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