Wasco County approves appointment of Dan Patton to compensation committee

The Wasco County Board of Commissioners approved Order 25‑028 on April 2, 2025, appointing Dan Patton to the county compensation committee.

The compensation committee meets annually to set pay rates for elected officials and county department directors based on county recommendations; members review and may adjust those recommendations, board members said. A vacancy on the committee prompted the recruitment and application that led to Patton's appointment.

A board member told colleagues Patton applied through a county contact; during discussion the transcript records both the names “Mike Middleton” and “Mike Downen” when members spoke about how the applicant was reached. The board member who supported the appointment said, "Dan Patton's a wonderful person. I think he'd do great on this." The speaker was recorded but not identified by full name in the transcript.

Board members noted Patton's application materials were not immediately visible in the main meeting packet. One member said the resume was not in the packet they could find; another located the document in the meeting supplement while the item was being discussed.

A motion to approve the order was made and seconded on the record. The transcript records the vote as unanimous, with the chair voting yes. The motion text on the record was, "Then I move to approve order 25Dash028, appointing Dan Patton to the compensation committee. I second the motion." The transcript records the result as "Aye. Aye. Chair votes, yes. Unanimous." The meeting record did not include a full roll-call tally in the excerpt provided.

Minutes for the meeting were discussed as being held separately; one board member said minutes would be approved at the next meeting. No additional conditions or amendments to the appointment were recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.