I know many Clark County citizens are happy about the recent dissolution of the county’s Department of Environmental Services (and Don Benton’s job as department head along with it), but they are not considering the disturbing trend that has developed with the advent of single-point decision-making regarding departmental reorganizations.
I am among those who believe Benton’s appointment to the department was politically motivated cronyism at its most blatant, and I welcome the outcome, but I cannot help but notice the large concentration of power placed with the acting county manager position. The Columbian reports that this is the third time Acting Manager Mark McCauley has exercised his full authority in this way. Marc Boldt is quick to distance himself from this “independent decision.”
This behavior might be accepted in a private-sector business, but in county government, which exists for public service and is funded primarily through citizens’ property and sales taxes, I wonder if we have entrusted a disproportionate amount of power in a single position where we have no way to engage in the decision-making process.
In Benton’s dismissal, there’s the sense that long-overdue justice has been served. Next time, McCauley’s unilateral decision may not be so welcome, and we may be more apt to reconsider this aspect of the home rule charter.
