The Nobles County Board of Commissioners should be commended for the common-sense decision it made Tuesday.
In voting unanimously to proceed with the search for a new county administrator, rather than a county coordinator, the commissioners saved taxpayers some money. Should the county coordinator choice have been made, a public referendum would have been necessary.
Additionally, as Commissioner Diane Thier noted during Tuesday's meeting, "There's way more counties in the state that have an administrator." Not only does it make sense for Nobles County to operate in a way similar to that of most other counties, we also think having an administrator makes more sense from a hierarchy standpoint. A county administrator has all department heads reporting to him or her. A county coordinator, meanwhile, would be on the same level as the department heads, with all reporting to the county board.
Whoever is hired as the new county administrator will report to the board, just as former administrator Mel Ruppert did. We are confident that the seven-member selection committee will do its due diligence in ensuring the county continues to take positive strides forward -- especially after being stagnant for so long. After all, whoever is ultimately hired will play a significant role in Nobles County's future direction.
