County building official announces retirement

The longtime leader of Spokane County’s building and planning departments announced Wednesday that he will retire in April.

For the past year Jim Manson has been at the center of controversy stemming from allegations that he improperly favored developers. In June, he was issued a “letter of correction” by county commissioners based on those concerns.

Manson, 66, said that recent troubles in the department aren’t the reason he’s stepping down. He said he’s leaving because of health problems and to spend more time with his family.

“It’s just time,” Manson said. “I think I’m worn out.”

In an e-mail to some county employees, County Commissioner Mark Richard said because of medical problems, Manson will be allowed to work from home until he officially retires on April 30.

“His expertise, professionalism and commitment to outstanding customer service will be missed,” Richard said in the e-mail.

Manson has been the county’s building official since he was hired in 1979. He previously worked for Walla Walla County.

He is an expert on building codes and is a former member of Washington’s Building Code Advisory Council.

Manson assumed control of the county’s planning department after county commissioners made the controversial decision to consolidate the building and planning departments in 1995.

Commissioners argued that the combination created government efficiency. Critics charged that it was an effort to thwart planning rules to favor development.

“I could be viewed as pro-development, there’s no secrets about that,” Manson was quoted as saying in a 1995 Spokesman-Review article.

The departments were split again in 1999, then joined again in 2003.

In 2006, county planner Bruce Hunt filed a whistleblower complaint with seven allegations, including that Manson improperly authorized a day care center to be placed in an airport crash zone. A four-month investigation found that the day care ruling and two other concerns in Hunt’s complaint had merit.

In October, Manson filed his own whistleblower complaint against Hunt regarding e-mail between Hunt and County Commissioner Bonnie Mager about a zoning issue. An investigation, however, found no wrongdoing.

Manson will earn about $8,700 a month in 2008. That would total around $104,000 if he were to work the whole year.

Although Manson said he will put in full days at home doing administrative work until he’s retired, Chief Operating Officer Gerry Gemmill has been asked to assume many of Manson’s day-to-day responsibilities.