Douglas County denies proposed merit-code changes, approves assistant county attorney contract pending review

On July 7 the Douglas County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to deny two proposed amendments to the county merit code recommended by the personnel review board.

Danielle Nichols, presenting the proposals, told the board the first revision would have required maintenance of disciplinary documentation in a pending disciplinary file until the disciplinary process was fully resolved and would establish criteria for when a disciplinary matter is considered resolved. The second proposal would have required the maintenance of a separate appeal case file while an appeal was pending and would place certain records in personnel files only upon final disposition. She cautioned both changes would affect administrative processes and Open Records Act evidentiary file handling.

After discussion the board voted 5–0 to deny the recommended revisions for both merit code items (section 13-100 and section 13-114) as presented.

Separately, the county attorney announced a candidate had been identified to fill an assistant county attorney position and requested approval to issue a contract pending final legal review. The board authorized the chair to sign related documents subject to legal review; the motion carried 5–0.

The board also approved the consent agenda items discussed in the work session by unanimous vote and recessed until 6 p.m. for a joint PNC and Board of Commissioners meeting. The transcripts did not record dollar amounts or personnel names for the assistant county attorney contract beyond the county attorney’s statement that a candidate had been located and that details would be shared later to be respectful of current employers.