County Names Acting Boss Top Engineer

A Republican activist described by his superiors as a team player was promoted Tuesday to Spokane County engineer.

Bill Johns, 49, who ran two unsuccessful congressional races and contributed to county Commissioner Phil Harris’ successful 1994 bid for office, had been acting county engineer since July.

It’s not known how much he will be paid, although the last county engineer earned $72,000 a year. Johns has worked in the department since 1988.

All three county commissioners voted to upgrade Johns on the recommendation of Public Works Director Dennis Scott, who predicted a statewide search for a new county engineer would not yield any applicants more qualified than Johns.

“I have observed Bill in tense circumstances, and he has handled the situation in a calm and professional manner that has gained him respect in all arenas,” Scott wrote commissioners last week.

Efforts to reach Johns and Scott were unsuccessful Tuesday.

Johns replaces longtime county Engineer Ron Hormann, who resigned in late June rather than accept a demotion.

The departure of Hormann, Washington state’s “County Engineer of the Year” in 1994, followed a reorganization in the Planning Department that resulted in the firing of three top managers.

Like those managers, Hormann complained that commissioners were cracking down on any county employee perceived as an obstacle to unrestricted development.

Johns will head a department with 240 employees and an annual budget of about $60 million.

He ran a pair of losing, low-budget campaigns against House Speaker Tom Foley and, with his wife, donated $325 to Harris’ campaign last year. Harris said Johns was promoted solely on merit and Scott’s recommendation.

In other action Tuesday, commissioners created a severance program for non-union employees who get caught in future downsizings.

They will receive one week’s pay for every year of service with a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks.

, DataTimes