Cochise County supervisors approve employment agreements for county administrator and clerk of the board

The Cochise County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 in a special meeting to approve employment agreements for Sharon Gilman as county administrator and Laura Lowenheim as clerk of the board, actions the board said were effective "today." The board met in executive session under Arizona law before returning to regular session to take the votes.

The personnel actions were approved after the board entered executive session pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes §38-431.03 to discuss personnel matters. "I move we approve the employment agreement for the county administrator position for Sharon Gilman as amended effective today," Supervisor Pierce said before the vote. The board recorded the motion as passing "Aye. 3 0." The board then approved a second motion to hire Laura Lowenheim as clerk of the board as part of what the chair described during the meeting as a "big org chart change." "I move we approve the employment agreement for the clerk of the board position for Laura Lowenheim as amended effective today," the mover said; that motion also passed 3-0.

The meeting record shows the board convened in the Executive Conference Room and allowed the public access 15 minutes before the meeting. Paul Gray joined the executive session remotely. No public debate, detailed discussion, or objections to the employment agreements were recorded in the portions of the meeting released in the transcript; supervisors said there was no additional discussion at the time of each vote.

The board congratulated Gilman after the vote. "Congratulations, Miss Gilman. You are now the official county administrator for Cochise County," the chair said on the record. The transcript also notes the clerk appointment was described as part of a broader organizational-chart change but does not record further details of that reorganization or any changes to pay, duties, reporting lines or effective end dates.

Both motions were described in the meeting as "as amended" and "effective today;" the transcript does not specify the amendments' text or the exact effective calendar date beyond the meeting-day phrasing. The board recorded both votes as 3-0. The minutes state the board held two agenda items in the special meeting and then adjourned; the next listed meeting was the library district meeting on Tuesday, June 17 at 10 a.m. in the hearing room to approve minutes and demands.

Because the personnel discussions occurred in executive session, the transcript records the board invoking ARS §38-431.03 and notes that executive-session minutes and discussions "shall be kept confidential." The public portions of the record show only the motions, the statutory citation for the executive session, the vote tallies, and brief remarks of congratulations after the votes.