County attorney seeks approval to advertise Prosecutor 3 vacancy; board places item on consent agenda

Linn County Attorney Nick Maibanks asked the Board of Supervisors on March 31 to approve a vacancy form for a full-time Prosecutor 3 position in the Linn County Attorney's Office. Maibanks said the position — described in the record as a full-time felony prosecutor role — is one the board previously approved in the budget process and that the office intends to promote internally when feasible.

Maibanks told the board: "This isn't, terribly controversial. This is the position that you all approved, for us in our offer that we made last last budget year." He said three current assistants expressed interest and that the office has a candidate in mind for an external hire when that step becomes necessary.

When a supervisor asked why the board should approve the vacancy now if budget constraints might delay hiring, Maibanks said the goal was "to get the ball rolling on it" and to notify Human Resources that the vacancy will be posted; he said actual hiring would depend on budget and that the earliest likely active recruitment would be mid-May. Another supervisor, identified in the transcript as Kirsten, noted that HR's Lisa and Sarah from Budget and Finance had signed the form, and said she felt comfortable moving forward.

The board agreed to place the vacancy form on the consent agenda for the next board meeting so the county attorney's office can begin coordination with HR and budget staff; no formal hire was made at the meeting.

Maibanks closed his remarks by noting the office's preference to promote from within and that, if internal promotion occurs, the office would then recruit externally for the resulting vacancy.