Commission gives administrator time to improve

County attorney John McPherson gets satisfactory job evaluation from commissioners

By John M. Ayers

The Gilchrist County Commissioners each gave verbal reasoning for their review of Gilchrist County Administrator Ron McQueen and County Attorney John McPherson during the Monday, Aug. 15 meeting.
The county attorney received satisfactory marks from most of the five commissioners, but was asked to improve on his work and devotion to Gilchrist County.
McQueen (pictured) was given unsatisfactory marks by a majority of the board and rated below average in several of the categories the commissioners reviewed pertaining to his job performance over the last two years. Ultimately, the commissioners gave McQueen six months to improve his performance as county administrator. McQueen’s position will be reviewed again in 2012.
During their Aug. 1, 2011 meeting, the county commissioners gave the county administrator and county attorney guidelines to submit self-evaluations of their job performance, which were turned into the commissioners last week.
In their review of attorney John McPherson, the commissioners said they were satisfied with his work, but asked that he get things done in a more timely manner. Several commissioners also asked the attorney to be more devoted to Gilchrist County in his position representing the Gilchrist County Commission.
Commissioner D. Ray Harrison, Jr. explained to McPherson that he didn’t agree with everything the attorney recommended to the commission, but felt he did a satisfactory job.
Commissioner Kenrick Thomas said he thinks McPherson does an excellent job, but he went on to say that he isn’t sure McPherson is qualified to represent Gilchrist County in a big legal battle.
Commission Chairman Randy Durden reported that McPherson has done an excellent job for Gilchrist County, but felt he needed to perform some of his responsibilities in a more timely manner.
“I know John McPherson has saved Gilchrist County quite a bit of money when he worked handling zoning issues and submitting EAR information to Tallahassee,” Durden said.
While discussing Ron McQueen’s job performance, Commissioner Sharon Langford said she feels his work has been unsatisfactory over the last year. Langford pointed out his communication with Gilchrist County department supervisors has been below average and he has not been focused on his job duties.
“I feel he should be given a period of time to improve, and the Commission should then review his performance in the near future,” Langford said.
Commissioner Tommy Langford said he has talked with Gilchrist County department supervisors under the county administrator’s supervision, and they reported that there is a lack of communication involving their departments. Langford added that McQueen must communicate with county employees and improve the working relationship within his office.
After saying that he has talked to McQueen about certain issues involving his job performance, Langford said, “Ronnie has assured me he will improve his performance as county administrator.”
Commissioner D. Ray Harrison, Jr. said that the county administrator has issues that need attention, including the fact that he is hard to communicate with when it comes to departments within the county.
“I have issues involving the use of his cell phone and him text messaging people that I feel are not job related,” Harrison said. “I feel McQueen needs to take fewer trips out of the county and be more involved in his county administrator duties.”
Harrison said he thinks McQueen should choose between being county administrator and fire chief of Fanning Springs. Harrison also said he thinks McQueen needs to better communicate with all county commissioners involving county business instead of just certain ones.
“I feel the performance of his duties as county administrator are below average and I am willing to give him time to improve,” Harrison said.
Commissioner Kenrick Thomas also said the county administrator needs to take control of the work in his office and better communicate with Gilchrist County employees and demand employees to be accountable.
“Ronnie needs to improve on some things, but I feel that he does not receive the appreciation from the commission that he often deserves,” Thomas said. “I think he does an excellent job on most issues and he has some personnel issues that he needs to get worked out.”
Commission Chairman Randy Durden also said that he feels the county administrator has performed his job duties below average over the last year. The commission chairman said the evaluation regarding the county administrator has been tough. While the county administrator’s job often involves telling people no and handling tough issues within county departments, Durden said he thinks McQueen’s performance as county administrator has fallen off in that he is not as prepared for board meetings as he used to be during his prior 13 years spent working as county administrator. Gilchrist County Department supervisors have expressed they are losing confidence in his performance as a supervisor and don’t seem to be able to get the individual attention that some of the departments need, Durden explained. The commission chairman also said that some personal issues involving the Fanning Springs Fire Department need to be dealt with.
“I am losing confidence in you as a county administrator and I am not sure you are still the man for the job,” Durden said.
The Commission chairman pointed out that pressure within the county departments has reached a critical level, and the county administrator must work more closely with employees and require them to do their job. This must be done, Durden explained.
“I have always been willing to do whatever it takes to do my job,” Ron McQueen responded after the commissioners made their comments.
Commissioner Tommy Langford made a motion to give the county administrator six months to improve and work out the identified problems involving his duties as county administrator. At that time the commission will review his performance and take further action if necessary. Commissioner Sharon Langford agreed with a second as the commission unanimously agreed on this action.