Benton County narrows timeline for county administrator search; Raftelis to run candidate screening

County staff and consultant recruiter Heather Gantz updated commissioners on Benton Countys search for a new county administrator. Gantz, a senior recruiter with Raftelis, told the board she has conducted outreach and will do an initial review of applications on May 22. She described a multistage process: an initial shortlist by Raftelis, an internal screening with county staff (including CFO Rick Krager and interim county administrator Suzanne Hoffman), a recommended first round of interviews around June 14 and a later two-day finalist process that would include internal and external stakeholder panels and a public reception.

Tracy Martineau and Gantz said the recruitment will remain open around the May 22 review date so exceptionally qualified late applications can be included. Gantz said the search had produced six applications at the time of the meeting and that Raftelis will perform online background checks and deeper diligence on finalists. Commissioners supported holding part of the candidate screening in executive session to protect candidate confidentiality and asked staff to coordinate calendars and outreach to stakeholders.

Next steps: Raftelis will review applications May 22, staff will convene internal screeners, and the board will be briefed with a confidential executive session recommendation in late May/early June.