EDC supes poised to hire new CAO
El Dorado County may have a new chief administrative officer this week.
The Board of Supervisors on Feb. 4 is being asked to hire interim CAO Pamela Knorr as the county’s future leader. It is the 26th item on a closed session agenda with 27 items.
Pam Knorr
Knorr was hired to be the human resources director for El Dorado County, and still is, in addition to be acting chief administrative officer because of CAO Terri Daly’s departure in November and Assistant CAO Kim Kerr leaving in December. She was CAO of Alpine County before being hired by El Dorado County.
The recommendation is to hire her without having done a background check. The county has never done a background check on Knorr so it’s not like supervisors can rely on the information gathered when she was first hired.
El Dorado County has a history of not running background checks. Ones were not done when Daly or Kerr were hired.
Plus, there has never been a recruitment for a CAO, so the county hasn’t taken the time to see who else might be out there besides Knorr.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
This pattern of hiring without doing an employment screening, background check, and previous employer and employee interviews is one that needs to change. Not being smart in hiring has cost this county millions and plagued the county for decades. It is the old crony system. There should be a competent firm looking for an executive and a good fit and Knorr should have to compete for the position and then a vote can be taken until then nothing should be done. Why in the world this county does things like this is a mystery and it suggests if this continues the trouble of incompetent leadership will continue.
It seems to me that the county won’t do a background check because then the BOS can claim ignorance of any previous wrongdoings in the workplace. What if a school district failed to do background checks. I doubt it would be tolerated. Ignorance can be bliss.
Didn’t she come from Alpine County with the other 2 who were just fired? I know nothing of her track record with either county but I am sure the tax payers would like know that they are getting the best person for the job and with the history of the office everything should be above board and all options explored.
Isn’t she being sued by alpine county employees as we speak, do some investigative reporting and look into this. Why skate a background check are they hiding something…..?..
This is unbelievable. Could it be the devil you know is not as bad as the one you don’t?
If this is the Board running the county, we need a new board.
Do a background check on all executive positions….common sense.
Shear idiocy!! Clean house starting with BOS!!! RECALL yesterday!
Sounds like we need to call our supervisors and tell them we want a change. She is one of the cronies from the old regime. She ran alpine county into broke and will sink us to the point of no return. Would be nice to know more about the lawsuits against her and get her opinion publicly.
I hope all of the above good folks will call Sue Novaseal to express their concerns in no uncertain terms. The board has to know they are accountable to their constituents and their constituents are sick and tired of the gross malfeasance.
This is shoddy at best. I don’t know if she is the best or worst choice, but without an open search for available candidates, how will we know. Any ignorance is no defense …the standard in most employment circles is, what is knowable. This is a sensitive position with fiduciary responsibility. A full background screening is essential.