LAKEPORT, Calif. – Following a Tuesday closed session performance evaluation and discussion, the Board of Supervisors gave the county’s interim county administrative officer the job on a permanent basis.
Matt Perry, 51, has held the job since last June, when the board appointed him to succeed Kelly Cox, the county’s longtime administrative officer, as Lake County News has reported.
“I’m grateful and honored that they chose to appoint me permanently,” Perry told Lake County News Tuesday evening.
Board Chair Rob Brown said it was Perry who had asked the board to appoint him on an interim basis in order to make sure it was the right fit for him and the county.
Brown said the board thinks Perry has done an excellent job. “We’re very confident in his ability to continue as our county administrative officer for many years to come.”
Perry, who had worked for Cox for many years before succeeding him, presented the first budget he had done on his own this summer. Brown said Perry definitely proved himself in that process.
Brown also credited Perry for helping bring the campus lease negotiations with Marymount College for the Lucerne Hotel – known as “The Castle” – to a successful conclusion.
“Getting The Castle renovated is the next big step in that process,” Perry said. “That’s going to take a lot of our time and energy.”
Starting later this month and into January, there also is the midyear budget review, said Perry. “Budgeting is almost a year-round process.”
Among Perry’s other ongoing challenges are managing the redevelopment agency’s dissolution and preparing the county to meet the requirements of the new federal health care laws, he said.
He said staff has made the transition to the new leadership, and he feels he has the support of county department heads.
Perry said there haven’t been any big surprises since taking the job, although he’s had a full realization of the gravity, responsibility and complexity of the position.
As for getting to take the “interim” out from in front of his title, Perry said, “I’ve been telling everyone that I’m permanent until next Tuesday,” referring to the day the board meets.
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