Washington County Salary Board eliminates director’s position

Scott Fergus was often called “the fourth commissioner” as Washington County government’s director of administration.
He held the top job in the 1990s as an appointee who replaced Joe Ford, but when he ran for commissioner in 1999 as an incumbent Republican, he found himself out in the cold at a time when Democrats dominated Washington County politics.
Fergus was soon appointed to a vacancy on city council when then-councilman Ken Westcott was elected mayor, and, as a Republican, he was elected to a full four-year term.
Fergus, a graduate of University of Pittsburgh law school, served as a city councilman until he resigned in August 2004 to become the county’s director of administration for what turned out to be a 15-year stint.
All department heads reported to Fergus, who took part in a myriad of county government functions, including labor negotiations, interfacing with Tyler Technologies Inc. during the most recent property reassessment and the Local Share committee that apportioned gambling revenue from The Meadows Racetrack & Casino.
During his tenure, he also switched his voter registration to the Democratic Party.
Health problems intervened in 2019, however, and when a new board – with a Republican majority for the first time in 25 years – took over in January 2020 the administrative position “chief of staff” was created. John Haynes, a new face in Washington County government, was named to the post.
The director of administration position which paid $95,532 annually, remained on the books until last week when Washington County Salary Board, composed of the commissioners and Controller Michael Namie, abolished it.
“Mentally, I feel fine,” Fergus said Tuesday. “I’m having trouble getting around. I use a cane.”
But, in his usual wry fashion, he noted that the cane was a step up from his previous locomotion aid, a walker.