Commissioners direct county manager to work with HR on corrective action plan before hiring new executive assistant

The Thurston County Board of County Commissioners voted Jan. 22 to direct the county manager to work with Human Resources to develop a corrective action plan focused on supervisory training for Commissioner Emily Clouse and to return to the board for a hiring decision on an executive assistant after the plan is complete.

Commissioner Clouse described a list of trainings she has begun and said she is “about 50%” through an on‑demand management and supervisory course; she also said she attended a 2½‑hour supervisory training provided through the risk pool on Jan. 16 and that some classes she hopes to take open for registration in early February. Clouse emphasized the trainings are ongoing and asked the board to consider a reasonable timeline and HR guidance for what would constitute completion.

Several commissioners said they wanted a prescriptive, HR‑vetted plan with specific competencies, a reasonable timeline, and verification of completion before the county posts or finalizes hiring an EA. One commissioner noted that posting and hiring could take several weeks and proposed starting recruitment while making final offers contingent on completion of the corrective action plan and verification of training; another commissioner objected to concurrent recruiting without first seeing HR’s action plan.

County Manager Leonard Hernandez said HR had already compiled a list of suggested trainings at the board’s earlier request and offered to work with HR to produce a formal corrective action plan that includes core competencies, training requirements and time frames; he said staff would return with a proposed plan "in several days." Vice Chair Wayne Fournier made the motion directing the county manager to work with HR; the motion was seconded. The board ultimately voted to adopt the motion (final board count: 3 in favor, 2 opposed). The motion instructs the county manager to develop a corrective action plan focused on supervisory training for Commissioner Clouse and return to the board for consideration of hiring an EA after the plan is completed.

Commissioners and staff discussed verification and recordkeeping: commissioners recommended that completed trainings be logged in the county’s training tracking system (TC Connect) or otherwise documented so HR and the board can confirm completion. Commissioner Rachel Grant proposed a schedule that would allow recruitment to begin in late February, with hiring deferred until March to allow Clouse to complete upcoming trainings and to let vacancy savings offset part of the cost; other commissioners opposed recruiting before HR presented a plan.

The board’s direction requires HR and the county manager to prepare a time‑bounded corrective action plan and present it to the board for further consideration on whether and when to hire an EA.