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Show the county. When Dunbeck was asked if he could recall any such meeting he said he could not. ing process. Robert Morris Morris resigned his posi- ' After Robert tion as the manager of Heber Light and Power, reportedly for personal homes in the area. reasons, he got a new job with the county as a Standard Operating construction inspector. In the mornings Procedure (SOP) The county also could not produce any he worked as an inspector at the new Deer Crest development in Jordanelle but in the afternoon he worked in Dan Before anyone can be hired for a new or evidence that Joseph Dunbeck’s position Matthews’ office doing the books for the e Develop or revise a current did it produce any evidence that other applicants applied for the open position. job. Dunbeck claimed that his work with the - county was based upon an oral agree- description e Assign that position a classification in an established pay grade and range e Justify the need for the position county, nor did the county produce any e Verify that funds are available to support the position such agreement. According to Dunbeck, e Publicly advertise the open poetion e Evaluate applicantsi qualifications e Interview and test three candidates In February 1998, Bob Mathis was trans- Hire the most qualified employee ferred from his post as Wasatch County Planner to a new position as Wasatch Countyis Olympic Coordinator. The position of Olympic Coordinator was an entirely new position that was created by the county commissioners. e ° Provide the new employee with ment. He was not aware of any formal agreement the he has not done any work for the. county in the last couple months. Bob Mathis an . orientation e, Develop performance and goals ever being signed with measurements In the event that the duties or responsi- ‘Tt does not appear that this position was bilities of a position change significant- ever publicly advertised nor does. it appear from the lack of documentation from the county that any other applicants ever applied for this position. 3 | ly, the personnel officer under the direc- | tion of the elected official will perform an analysis of the changes and revise > the current job description. ns | tc alee concerning Joseph Dunbeck — Her, 1997" Joseph. Dahbeék deputy county attorney County. The county has him on its payroll until Woukeds as’ xs for Wasatch no record of February 5th, EDITORIAL continued from page 4 > was .a job: description of his duties as - county planner in 1984 and an excerpt . » record from the minutes of the February : — 8, 1999, county commission meeting in - which. he. ‘was appointed as. the new Jordanelle Special Service District, which term as County Attorney. On February Ist, 1999, less than a month into a four- year term, he resigned and was appointed as the manager of the Jordanelle SSD. We find the resignation of Mr. Matthews troubling and still question the reason his early departure. We feel that if run for public office you are making implicit contract with the voters that ee he county, ae Bob Mathis’ employment for you an on will serve out your term. All ces are intelligent ed skilled amen,n, but are they the best qualified for their jobs? Mr. Morris’s job is basically tc keep the books of the various Special Service Districts the County Commissioners have commandeered. This is pretty much a low level accounting job, which could - is building a complete new. civic infrastructure and has assumed a massive debt _load, is an attorney? Sounds like a job that requires years of experience in con- ‘struction and maintenance of public works. projects. Say what you like about former JSSD Manager LeeRoy Farrell; at least he had years of relevant experience managing water and sewer projects. With all that’s riding on the successful completion of JSSD the County Commission was morally obligated to search out the available. person. best-qualified Apparently no one else was even considered. is Three plum county jobs. No advertising : for applicants, no interviews, no women, _ county no minorities, no one else even considered. Complete disregard for the county’s ~ no other potential applicants were made aware of the opening or were ever inter-— viewed for the job. Bob Mathis’ job as own Personnel Policy. Complete disregard for Equal Employment Opportunity. Just well connected White Mormon Males shuffling between jobs. No matter be a valuable entry-level position to employment, especially for ‘women and minorities. But apparently Olympic Planner appears to consist largely of public relations and some ancillary scheduling and planning. There are many people in Wasatch County we feel could do as well or better in this position. There are many hard charging, outgoing and media savvy women in this county, why weren’t they given a chance to compete for this job? Dan Matthews bails out of his elected County Attorney job and becomes head of a water and sewer district? Doesn’t this job require some kind of experience in the area of engineering? Does it make sense that the head of the how dismal your past job history, if you are a good old boy you'll always have a job with Wasatch County. The County Personnel Policy states that - county employees shall be selected “ the basis of their ability, knowledge and skill levels”. In Wasatch County you -could make the case that this means the ability to figure out who hires county employees (the commissioners), the knowledge of where the bodies are buried and the skill to kiss the commissioners’ collective behinds. % ern ~. He now directs one of the most financially fragile SSD’s-in the county. It has a debt load of over $12 million even though there are less than a dozen County’s Personnel Policy was openly advertised to the public. Nor ermine -ers had appointed Matthews. without going through. the normal bir: NGemally strict government entities rules concerning the Torin for Matthews’ rrr of work Dan follow hiring and firing of employees. Procedures are Twin Creeks Special Service District. drawn up and followed to the letter to This service district provides water and make sure the hiring process is fair and sewer service for the eastern part oh. equitable for everyone including women Heber Valley. and minorities. When these procedures The only document the county. sent: are not followed, it enables the hiring” WATCH-PAC concerning the hiring or authority to appoint its own friends, transferring of Robert Morris was a brief _ family, or cronies without | public or job description of his duties as a con- es media oversight. . struction inspector. There was never any mention. of his duties as.a business manAccording - to the: documents ~ that ager for special | service districts. see “Wasatch County sent WATCH-PAC, it on, Morris eventually quit his job as does not appear that it has followed its construction inspector and became ie full-time business manager Oe at least five special service districts. own hiring procedures: that | positions ‘in the public. The Government Records. Access: and ; Management Act requires government “entities to-provide information’ request- local newspaper or that other applicants ever applied for. this. -position.| ed by citizens within 10. working | days. WATCH- PAC received an incomplete Dan Matthews ‘aor It also appears of the plum county government were neverr open to No: job description Sopcorsiis his duties as a business° manager was ever produced. Nor doés it appear that this position was ever properly advertised in a Less. than. a eo many t mission meeting, although he did a great deal to ai by the county in an official county com- relating appointment was a small excerpt out of It was Mathis’ understanding that when the minutes of a county commission the county created a new position, it _ meeting that indicated the commissioncould transfer existing employees into it | answer to its request in about 75 days. Brent Titcomb, the county clerk, serves Dan. Matthews started a four-year term as county attorney he : resigned. He was immediately given. a position: as the head of the as the county’s personnel officer, and his _office serves as the main. clearinghouse for documents that are requested under ~ea . GRAMA.. District Jordanelle ‘Special - Service (JSSD).; This position was never pubWATCH- PAC meetings are open topike licly advertised nor does it appear that. 2 public and are held the first Wednesday any other candidates applied for the job. of every month in the Wallsburg Town The only documents the. county pro- | ‘all ate :00 pm. B AIRPORT continued from page. 9° Ce cinall town ¢ airports, Hees City’s airport is completely self-supporting and the — local operators want to keep it that way. One of the benefits of an expanded airport is that gliders would have access to _ better. facilities. ‘Currently, gliders must ‘use the. same eet as Powers # airplanes. © No one* expects” ‘the airport to ever become a commercial airport in the traditional sense: es nee may Qaar since the extra revenue generated by wealthy vis_itors” would trickle | ‘down | to! them. Increasingly, Wasatch ‘County seen as a tourist destination i in is. being Ats. awe | right. a With three | reservoirs, ‘conference ters, cen- numerous. ski. resorts, world-class _ fishing, within and snow! ni Q biling-all : hunting half an ‘hour's drive could ; become an imps Parse of all, the mountains are too close help build hee eounty’s & courile industry: Se, for larger planes and it would not be — Tt could. also meet the transportation economically feasible since Salt Lake - International and the’ Provo City: Airports. are. sO close. At most there would be a few charter flights that would serve the local tourist industry. Instead, it is most likely that the airport will continue to serve the growing com- munity of airplane enthusiasts like local members of the Confederate Air Force. What dees airport expansion mean for the residents and aS or Heber City? Among ae “gine it would ‘mean -more high paying jobs for local resi. dents. It could also mean expanded © rrr ait or did not, provide any evidence that Joseph Dunbeck was ever officially hired duced nto self- could not | In the GRAMA request _concerning Joseph Dunbeck, the county could not, existing position within county govern. ment, the county must: ope individual, he ~ 3 Olympic Coordinator. requirements of other businesses like those that may occupy the new business park, currently South in being built Heber, that on 1200 requires close proximity to airports. The tax revenue from sales that are gen- erated by airport traffic could also help reduce the tax burden upon local resi: dents: 7 No eer & have been cee concern- ing any: expansion of the airport, but the county wants to keep its options open. Al Mickelson, the county planner, told school- to-work programs for students ~ -otheér overnment leaders at a recent who aspire to aviation related careers. ee E meeting that “ we ve got| to see this [air| -would also help increase the are ae port] : as a2 jewel.” pee ty of businesses at the airport. i employed remember. ment agencies, Wasatch County was not able to produce this information, much like it wasn’t able. to produce the construction bid documents for the new fire station in Jordanelle. The county could only produce a small fraction of the documents it was supposed to have. en asked a contract basis for the county as a Although this is routine information that is normally kept on file by govern- OREO Gy was 1 posi- t ions. no Dunbeck Tran for these When er | ed. potential ae 1999. whether he was an employee of Dan Matthews’ private law firm ‘or serving on a SHUFFLE continued from page 1 “Novenber 2 1555 = COURIER 1 frre WASATCH COUNTY |