Kittitas County commissioners sign public defender’s annual evaluation after executive sessions

Vice Chairman Brett Wachsmith announced multiple executive sessions at the Kittitas County Board of Commissioners’ special meeting on March 16, 2026, and the board signed the annual performance evaluation for Eileen Murphy, the county’s director of public defense, then directed staff to prepare a Personnel Action Form.

Wachsmith told the meeting at 10:00 a.m. that the board would recess into a 15‑minute executive session under RCW 42.30.110(g) to evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment or to review the performance of a public employee, and he cited RCW 42.30.140(4), which requires final hiring, salary or disciplinary actions be taken in an open meeting. The minutes record subsequent short executive sessions and brief public reconvenings through the morning.

The transcript shows the board reconvened at 10:40 a.m. and recorded that "The Board signed Director of Public Defense Eileen Murphy's annual performance evaluation and directed Staff to prepare a PAF (Personnel Action Form)." The minutes do not record a roll‑call vote or any motion text for that action; they list the signing and the directive as the formal outcome.

The meeting began with Vice Chairman Brett Wachsmith and Commissioner Laura Osiadacz present; Chairman Cory Wright was excused. The minutes list Eileen Murphy and Office Administrator Jodi Larsen among those attending. The transcript contains a garbled closing time entry ('70242 a.m.'); the minutes’ sequence of events indicates the meeting ended shortly after the 10:40 a.m. reconvening, but the exact adjournment time is not clearly stated.

No other substantive agenda items or public comments are recorded in the posted minutes from this special session. The action recorded — signing the director’s evaluation and directing staff to prepare a PAF — is documented as occurring in open session after the executive sessions.