The Josephine County Board of Commissioners will be led by John West in 2024.
West was named Board Chair yesterday after the Commissioners voted 2-1 to have him succeed Herman Baertschiger. West nominated himself for the post. Dan DeYoung also nominated himself as Chair, but he was defeated by his colleagues. Baertschiger was then unanimously voted in as Vice-Chair for 2024.
DeYoung started the meeting with a point of order, stating that the County Charter calls for the Commissioners to select Chair and Vice-Chair during the first session of each year. It had not been included in the meeting agenda.
In the only action item of the meeting, the Board unanimously approved a grant agreement between the Josephine County District Attorney's Office and State of Oregon. The VOCA/CFA grant will pay for additional staffing in the DA's Office to administer the Victims' Assistance Program.
The Commissioners also unanimously approved the Consent Calendar, which contained minutes from weekly business sessions and legal counsel updates as well as the selection of Dwayne Yunker to succeed Lily Morgan as District 3 State Representative. Morgan recently resigned to become City Manager of Gold Hill.
During Requests and Comments from Citizens, the Board heard from several people testifying in support of the Pipe Fork property sale near Williams and one person who spoke about gun legislation.
