Grant County approves posting for county manager after revising minimum qualifications

The Grant County Board directed HR to post a revised county manager job description for 30 days after a lengthy discussion on Sept. 10 about educational requirements and years-of-experience thresholds.

Commissioner Flores presented a draft that incorporated language from comparable counties and recommended a mix of educational and experience-based minimums. Commissioners debated alternatives — whether a master’s degree should be required or preferred and how many years of progressively responsible management should be required for candidates with just a bachelor’s degree. The board converged on an approach that preserves flexibility: HR will post a job that allows for a master’s degree with fewer years of required experience or a bachelor’s degree with a higher years-of-experience threshold (final edit direction recorded as masters with 3 years; bachelor's with 6 years experience), and applications will be held confidential during the 30-day posting period.

Chairman Ponce also instructed commissioners to coordinate with the county manager and attorney to set a rubric for candidate review and to keep application materials confidential until commissioners authorize release for review. The motion to finalize the job description changes and post the position carried by voice vote.