Commissioners approve sheriff promotion and hiring exceptions, authorize grant application and set countywide planning hearing

The Wallowa County Board of Commissioners on March 24 approved several personnel actions, authorized a law-enforcement grant application and set a public hearing on countywide planning policies.

The board voted 3-0 to approve a hiring-freeze exemption to promote a sheriff’s office employee to sergeant; to approve a separate hiring-freeze exemption to fill a corrections control-room officer vacancy; and to approve an additional corrections control-room officer request later in the meeting. The board likewise voted 3-0 to authorize application for a Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority (WATPA) grant to fund 10 Flock cameras for two years and to set a public hearing for adoption of countywide planning policies for April 7 at 8:30 a.m. in the County Commissioner Chambers.

Why it matters: the staffing votes address immediate coverage and supervision in the county jail and sheriff’s squads, and the WATPA grant would give the sheriff’s office access to a camera network used by other local agencies; commissioners and staff said the county would face ongoing costs if it kept the system after grant-funded years. The countywide planning policies hearing advances the comprehensive-plan update required by state periodic-update timelines.

On staffi…