Washington County commissioners discuss staff-assistant roles, confidential inbox and limits on after-hours events

Washington County commissioners spent a roundtable session reviewing expectations and operational rules for the staff-assistant team that supports the five commissioners, including new guidance on email access, event attendance and commissioner budgets.

Anna Ober, Assistant County Administrator, and Erin Doyle presented the staff-assistant framework and asked commissioners to confirm shared expectations. Ober said the positions are a shared county resource intended to support the entire board and emphasized four principles: staff assistants are county-provided resources; they are a shared (not individual-only) support; they are managed through county management processes; and they must not perform personal or political work for commissioners.

Ober said staff assistants should be able to step in for each other to maintain continuity when one is on leave. She also described calendaring practices that the CAO’s office has standardized, including a weekly BCC external calendar and appointment-format conventions so internal staff and external partners can find the correct contact and logistics. "They are a resource, provided by the county to you to support your work and goals in setting the course for the county," Ober said.

Presenters described several rules and practices commissioners should expect:

- Personal/political work: staff assistants are not to perform substantive work related to a commissioner’s political campaigns or purely personal business; they can hold calendar time or help schedule meetings for personal use but cannot do campaign work on county time. - After-hours events: attendance at events outside standard business hours can be supported but is limited to one event per quarter per commissioner unless the event occurs during regular work hours. - Confidential inbox and email management: the county has set up a confidential inbox intended for communications meant only for commissioners, the CAO and county counsel. The BCC communications list (a broader distribution) includes commissioners, staff assistants, ACAs and CAO office leadership; presenters asked commissioners to ensure calendar settings are public enough for staff to confirm availability. - Travel and reimbursements: travel authorizations, P-card use and reimbursements must follow county purchasing and IRS rules; mileage reimbursement for private mileage applies when travel exceeds 50 miles and requires documentation and receipts. Presenters said commissioners should submit travel authorizations and receipts promptly to allow timely reimbursement. - Commissioner budgets: presenters explained the proposed commissioner budget structure, noting each commissioner’s individually tracked share equals roughly $4,290 in total for the year (the packet showed the board-level totals and explained the per-commissioner breakdown). Examples included a shared $1,000 supplies/food line (about $200 per commissioner) and shared professional-service costs for executive reviews that the CAO proposed to split between the CAO and county counsel budgets in future years.

Commissioners praised the staff team and asked clarifying questions about calendar coordination, constituent email routing and access to the confidential inbox on mobile devices. Anna Ober and county staff agreed to follow up on technical details (e.g., mobile access to the confidential inbox) and to provide clearer lists of who is on the BCC distribution list.

Ending: County administrators said they will refine the written staff-assistant guidance and return with technical fixes and follow-up materials in future board packets.