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SUMMIT COUNTY - While all but one of the county positions on the Nov. 5 ballot are uncontested, there is one for which no one is running. County Surveyor Rich Ferris is stepping down from his part-time job of 15 years, and no one has thrown a hat in the ring to replace him.
The position is unpaid.
County officials don't know how they're going to fill the vacancy.
"It's pretty much the great unknown," said County Commissioner Bill Wallace. "Obviously, an option is, any surveying we need to have done, we contract out to someone, in which case we would have to pay someone. We'd sure rather not do that."
The county is facing severe budget constraints, with a proposed 2003 budget that is almost $2 million less than in 2002.
Wallace said the position also could stay in-house but become paid.
"I'll have to look at the budget and see if there's anything in there," Wallace said. "We know we will have to do something, and we will probably get that on the November (commissioners') agenda."
Ferris, who was appointed to the position in 1987, said he has personal reasons for not seeking re-election. He is already on the county payroll, working as assistant director of information systems. The job of surveyor doesn't take much of his time, he said, estimating that for him it requires "tens of hours in a year."
"I think there's been a recognition by the county that while those were really surveyor responsibilities, they were occurring during part of my normal work week, so there was some compensation there," Ferris said. "Those hours I wasn't spending in my appointed role, I was spending in my elected role."
The surveyor's responsibilities are outlined by state statute and are primarily administrative, Ferris said.
"The surveyor deposits a plat in the clerk and recorder's office that specifically describes the monuments that mark boundaries of survey markers," he said. "That could be, in the case of the county landfill, the commons, determining boundaries of those properties.
"The other part (of the job) is to provide surveys for the county, or being responsible for providing surveys to resolve boundary disputes when called on by the courts."
Ferris said the job "requires a certain level of professionalism."
"I had to pass state boards to become a professional land surveyor," he said.
County commissioners have asked Ferris to come up with a list of recommendations for replacing him, but Ferris said he hasn't yet had a chance to compile those.
According to state law, the county must appoint someone to the position within 90 days of a vacancy.
The only contested county race in the Nov. 5 election is for the District 1 county commissioner. Incumbent Independent Gary Lindstrom is vying for the seat against Green Party candidate Justin McCarthy. Other positions up for election include that of county clerk, assessor, treasurer, sheriff and coroner.
Jane Reuter can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 229, or by
e-mail at jreuter@summitdaily.com.
The position is unpaid.
County officials don't know how they're going to fill the vacancy.
"It's pretty much the great unknown," said County Commissioner Bill Wallace. "Obviously, an option is, any surveying we need to have done, we contract out to someone, in which case we would have to pay someone. We'd sure rather not do that."
The county is facing severe budget constraints, with a proposed 2003 budget that is almost $2 million less than in 2002.
Wallace said the position also could stay in-house but become paid.
"I'll have to look at the budget and see if there's anything in there," Wallace said. "We know we will have to do something, and we will probably get that on the November (commissioners') agenda."
Ferris, who was appointed to the position in 1987, said he has personal reasons for not seeking re-election. He is already on the county payroll, working as assistant director of information systems. The job of surveyor doesn't take much of his time, he said, estimating that for him it requires "tens of hours in a year."
"I think there's been a recognition by the county that while those were really surveyor responsibilities, they were occurring during part of my normal work week, so there was some compensation there," Ferris said. "Those hours I wasn't spending in my appointed role, I was spending in my elected role."
The surveyor's responsibilities are outlined by state statute and are primarily administrative, Ferris said.
"The surveyor deposits a plat in the clerk and recorder's office that specifically describes the monuments that mark boundaries of survey markers," he said. "That could be, in the case of the county landfill, the commons, determining boundaries of those properties.
"The other part (of the job) is to provide surveys for the county, or being responsible for providing surveys to resolve boundary disputes when called on by the courts."
Ferris said the job "requires a certain level of professionalism."
"I had to pass state boards to become a professional land surveyor," he said.
County commissioners have asked Ferris to come up with a list of recommendations for replacing him, but Ferris said he hasn't yet had a chance to compile those.
According to state law, the county must appoint someone to the position within 90 days of a vacancy.
The only contested county race in the Nov. 5 election is for the District 1 county commissioner. Incumbent Independent Gary Lindstrom is vying for the seat against Green Party candidate Justin McCarthy. Other positions up for election include that of county clerk, assessor, treasurer, sheriff and coroner.
Jane Reuter can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 229, or by
e-mail at jreuter@summitdaily.com.
