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Roosevelt County Commission votes to offer county manager job to Gowen Hays
Summary
On July 8, 2024 the Roosevelt County Commission voted unanimously to offer the vacant county manager position to candidate Gowen Hays, authorizing the county attorney to extend an offer at $105,000 and negotiate a one-year contract with benefits similar to the prior manager’s contract.
Roosevelt County Commissioners voted unanimously on July 8, 2024 to offer the county manager position to candidate Gowen Hays and authorized County Attorney Randall Van Vleck to extend an offer for $105,000 and negotiate a one-year contract with benefits comparable to those in the most recent contract held by Ms. Hamilton.
Commission Chair Commissioner Tina Dixon called the special meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. in the County Commission Room at the Roosevelt County Courthouse in Portales. After opening formalities, Commissioner Roy Lee Criswell moved at 9:02 a.m. to enter executive session for the purpose of interviewing five candidates for the county manager vacancy; the motion passed on a roll-call vote with Commissioners Paul Grider, Criswell, Dixon, Rodney Savage and Dennis Lopez all voting yes.
The public minutes record the interviews as having taken place in closed session; the meeting recessed for lunch at 12:15 p.m. and reconvened at 1:00 p.m., with Commissioner Dennis Lopez noted as absent at reconvening and returning at 1:45 p.m. At 2:22 p.m. Commissioner Criswell moved to exit executive session; that motion also passed unanimously.
"Only the vacant county manager position was discussed in executive session," Commissioner Tina Dixon said, and she noted that while no final action had been taken during the closed session itself, action was necessary as a result of it. Following that statement, Commissioner Rodney Savage moved to offer the position to Gowen Hays; Commissioner Criswell seconded the motion and the commission voted yes on the motion with all five commissioners recorded as voting in favor.
Commissioner Dennis Lopez asked County Attorney Randall Van Vleck to extend the offer to Hays at an initial salary of $105,000 and to negotiate a one-year employment agreement with benefits similar to those in Ms. Hamilton’s most recent contract. The minutes do not provide the text of a contract or further details on benefit elements; the commission also did not record any amendments to the offer at the meeting.
The special meeting was adjourned at 2:33 p.m. The county attorney is authorized to complete offer and contract negotiations; the minutes do not record whether the candidate accepted the offer at the meeting or a follow-up acceptance date.
