Polk County's administrator search is on hold
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Three months after ousting county administrator John Norris, Polk County supervisors still have no timeline to begin searching for his replacement.
Why it matters: The administrator oversees the county's $350 million-plus budget and day-to-day operations.
- The continued vacancy leaves a key leadership role unfilled as legal and political tensions mount.
Catch up quick: Norris' January departure followed years of internal strife, including the 2021 firing of HR director Jim Nahas, who alleges whistleblower retaliation in an ongoing lawsuit against the county.
- Norris, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairperson, was placed on paid administrative leave shortly after two new Republican supervisors took office in January.
- Last month, supervisors agreed to pay nearly $520,000 in salary and other expenses in exchange for his resignation and agreement not to sue.
Driving the news: Board chair Matt McCoy said in a meeting last week that he doesn't believe it's the best time to launch a search, citing ongoing internal issues and media scrutiny that could make the job unattractive to prospective candidates.
State of play: Frank Marasco, a sheriff's office administrator, continues to serve in the role on an interim basis.
- Meanwhile, Sarah Boese, a deputy administrator, has filed a separate complaint alleging unethical conduct and political retaliation for the board's refusal to consider her for the job and choosing Marasco as the interim, the Register reports.
The bottom line: The administrative search might not begin for months.
A civil trial in the Nahas case against the county is scheduled to begin in September, and a lawsuit filed by Boese has not yet been scheduled for trial.