Board approves six-month severance clause in county administrator's contract

The Hubbard County Board of Commissioners voted to amend the county administrator's employment agreement to provide six months'pay as severance in the event the administrator is dismissed without cause.

County Administrator Jeff (first name used in meeting) had requested the change during a closed-session performance review and follow-up discussion. Supporters said the provision offers job stability in a volatile political climate; opponents expressed concern about the cost and said a 90-day period matched other local expectations. "Six months is the max allowed by state statute, which is why that's the recommendation," a county staff member said during the discussion. A commissioner argued the extra protection reduces the risk of abrupt administrative turnover following elections.

Board discussion weighed competing concerns: protecting a senior administrator and safeguarding taxpayer funds. One commissioner said a lump-sum six-month payout at the current salary would be a significant expense and warned that such terms might discourage future boards from taking timely personnel actions. Another commissioner said the severance was a reasonable protection against politically motivated dismissals and that it would be revisited when hiring any future administrator.

A motion to adopt the six-month severance amendment carried on a roll call of the board and will be memorialized in the administrator's contract. Board members clarified that the revised term applies to the current contract and that any future administrator's contract could be negotiated separately by a future board.

County staff will publish the required summary of the closed-session performance review and the contract amendment in the minutes as required by state law.