Life is changing fast at the Jefferson County administration. A major rewrite of the county’s planning and zoning ordinance is well under way. The planning and zoning departments are being split up. The head of planning and zoning was fired, then unfired, transferred to a new position, then resigned. And finally, the county has hired a management consultant to review the entire county’s administration. 
What is going on?
Management Review
Jefferson County hired local management consultant, GB Associates—at a cost of $56,000—to review the administration of the county. The results of the review were published on the county’s website, along with, surprisingly, the comments, in red italics, of the prosecuting attorneys office. Here is an example from the first paragraph of the first page of the first section of the review.
“Jefferson County lacks a clear definition of direction, mission and vision. While most department heads have created such statements, the overall county lacks such a mission statement of vision and purpose. Will Rogers once said “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there. This is the perception of the Jefferson County government as expressed by many to the consultant.” [The prosecuting attorney’s comments follow in red.]  While it is true that the county commission does not have such a statement, branches of government do not usually create their own mission statements. Rather the mission statement for any branch of government comes from either the United States constitution, or the West Virginia State Constitution or state legislation. Accordingly, any independent mission statement would be inappropriate”
And so it goes on for 12 sections and over 100 pages. Strong words of despair and angst-ridden recommendations by the consultant, followed by snippy red italics from the prosecuting attorney’s office. Proposals range from banning lit candles from county offices, to illuminating the American flag at Bardane public service center to recycling plastic and bottles to “protect Mother Earth.”
GB Associates also recommends that the planning and zoning department be split into two.
Re-structuring Departments
In March of this year, following the report by GB Associates, the County Commission agreed to split the planning and zoning department. In Jefferson County government, planning and zoning have been housed for over a decade under one roof
In the future, Jefferson County will have two departments, one for planning to be supervised by the Planning Commission, and one for zoning, to be supervised by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
The county commission has appointed a transition committee to oversee the creation of the new departments. Tom Trumble will chair this committee. The committee will include Paul Burke, head of the Planning Commission, along with Roger Goodwin and Shelly Kelly, who currently work in the Planning and Zoning Department.
Paul Raco Resigns
This Planning and Zoning department has been led by director Paul Raco, who has attracted much attention over the past few years. Anti-growth advocates charge him with being pro-development. Developers say he is simply enforcing the existing ordinance.
In late 2006 and early 2007, the County Commission attempted to remove Raco from his position. Public hearings were called and the attempted dismissal stalled.
In March 2007, the County Commission removed Raco from his position and reassigned him within the newly created organization structure as facilities manager.  The County has asked Mr Raco to report on the impact of annexation on the county and to conduct a study of all options for the County’s ambulance service. Had Mr Raco accepted this offer he would have kept his salary of $90,000. However, on March 22 Paul Raco’s resignation was accepted by county commission. The terms of resignaton are to be sealed for a year. His resignation will be effective 6 April.
Staying Informed
Life is changing fast in the county. One way that citizens are able to stay up to date, is by signing up for automatic alerts on agenda items and meetings from the county’s website.  Another way is by watching video feeds of county commission meetings, that are also now available from the county’s website, www.JeffersonCountyWV.org .