Good faith

Last week the Board of County Commissioners voted to approve the final contract for David Hamilton as our new administrator. After all the speculation that Commissioners Rowden and Rocco would vote against this new administrator, it actually surprised everyone when the vote was split 3-2. The surprise came when Commissioners Russell and Rocco voted against choosing Mr. Hamilton as our next administrator, not Commissioner Rowden. Diane Rowden actually complimented Hamilton for doing his homework on the county and said she thought he would do a fine job.

During the contract dicussions, Mr. Hamilton's salary was scrutinized carefully by Commissioner Rocco. She said she wanted to see him prove himself on the job before he got an automatic pay raise. She also was critical about the benefits package being offered to Mr. Hamilton. It was a pleasant surprise to hear that David Hamilton requested the automatic pay increase clause be taken out of the contract, stating that he would prefer to wait until the appropriate time when all employee raises were discussed by the commissioners.

The final contract for David Hamilton was approved 4-1 with Commissioner Rocco voting nay. This nay vote was a little confusing to some in the public, especially after Mr. Hamilton acted in good faith with his contract negotiation.