By Stan Matthews
County Website and Communications Manager
The San Juan County Council announced today [May 1] that Administrator Pete Rose has resigned his position, effective June 8, to become city administrator of Lake Forest Park in King County.
In a brief written statement delivered to the council during an executive session this morning, Rose said, “I appreciate the opportunity given to me to serve the County Council and the people of San Juan County. My time with San Juan County has been a continuous learning experience. I hope that I have left this organization a better place.”
“Pete has been a great asset to this County and we all wish him great success in his new position,” said County Council Chair Patty Miller.
Rose began work as San Juan County’s Administrator in July of 2006. He was the first permanent County Administrator hired after the adoption of the County’s home rule charter in November of 2005. His first task was to support the transition of the County Government from a three-person elected commission to a government with a professional administrator and a 6-member policymaking council.
One of his earliest initiatives was equipping a County Council hearing room as a “smart room” which has enabled the Council to stream its meetings live on the Internet, and conduct meetings by video conference. “That,” he said, “has made it possible for many more people to attend our council meetings than in counties many times our size.”
Rose has worked through difficult economic times for the County. In order to keep the County’s budget in balance, he initiated cuts which reduced its workforce by 15% between 2007 and 2011. He credits the financial sacrifices made by all County employees and the willingness of the employee union and guild to negotiate budget reduction measures. Unpaid furloughs and adjustments to benefits and wages enabled the County to keep essential services intact. “They deserve our gratitude,” he said.
Soon after arriving, Rose established weekly department-head meetings and set a standard for the quality of staff reports from administrative departments to the Council, and made the reports easily available to the public.
To help sort out the complex budgeting process, he designed an annual county budget book which presents budget proposals in an understandable format, rather than previous “240 pages of greenbar computer printouts.” In 2011, he added comprehensive quarterly financial reports to the council, which has helped it react quickly to recent, unanticipated drops in revenue.
Rose also cites his pride with improvements in transparency through providing information on the county’s website. During his administration, thousands of public documents have been made accessible in searchable online archives, and hundreds of staff hours formerly spent answering public inquiries have been saved by posting information such as detailed property profiles from the Assessor’s office, individual tax statements from the Treasurers’ office, announcements of jury duty cancellations by the district court, the County’s meeting calendar, council agendas with downloadable staff reports, and the daily schedules of building inspectors.
During his term, despite budget difficulties and staff cutbacks, the County has taken major steps toward becoming compliant with the State’s Growth Management Act.
But the Administrator admits that he’s hardly ready to take a victory lap. “This County government continues to face tough challenges. Perhaps the toughest being the need to find sources of revenue that will fund the essential functions of its government at a sustainable level.”
Miller indicated that the Council would begin the process of seeking a successor immediately.
