Temporary board adopts standardized scoring, adds veterans-preference applicants for commissioner interviews

A temporary board overseeing appointments to the Josephine County Board of County Commissioners set the rules for interviews at a special meeting on Feb. 17, voting unanimously to use a standardized scoring method and adding five applicants who qualified for veterans' preference.

Chair Dustin Calvo called the meeting to order at 9:02 a.m. and read the list of attending temporary board members, which included Peter Allen (Surveyor), Rhiannon Henkels (Clerk), Wally Hicks (Legal Counsel), Chris Parton (Assessor), Dave Daniel (Sheriff) and recorder Nikole Guzman.

All members reviewed the agenda and the pool of applicants and declared potential conflicts of interest related to their departmental roles; Peter Allen stated that some applicants had used his private surveying services. The declarations were recorded before the board proceeded with eligibility and process decisions.

Calvo told the board that five additional applicants would be added to the interview roster because they qualified for veterans' preference points. Leah Harper, who explained how those veterans' points must be applied, outlined the requirement that veterans' preference be credited where it applies to applicants’ overall scoring.

Board members discussed two scoring approaches — a standardized 1–5 scale and an Olympic-style method — before Sheriff Dave Daniel moved to use the standardized scoring system. Clerk Rhiannon Henkels seconded the motion. On roll call, Peter Allen, Chris Parton, Rhiannon Henkels, Dave Daniel, Wally Hicks and Chair Dustin Calvo all voted yes and the motion carried 6–0. The board also approved an eligibility check ahead of any appointment without objection.

The board then finalized the set of interview questions to be used for each candidate, selecting six specific questions referenced in the meeting record (numbers 8a, 1a, 9, 15a, 21 and 25). The board agreed that 35 minutes per interview would allow sufficient time for applicants to answer the six questions and for the panel to proceed through the nine applicants.

A random draw established the order and scheduled times for the nine applicants: applicant 6 at 9:00 a.m.; applicant 4 at 10:00 a.m.; applicant 5 at 11:00 a.m.; applicant 8 at 12:30 p.m.; applicant 7 at 1:30 p.m.; applicant 2 at 2:30 p.m.; applicant 9 at 3:30 p.m.; applicant 1 at 4:30 p.m.; and applicant 3 at 5:30 p.m.

No other matters were raised under the relevant agenda item. The meeting adjourned at 9:55 a.m. The board did not make any appointment at the session; interviews and eligibility checks were set to proceed under the rules adopted at the meeting.