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Washington County commissioners appoint McCune as interim chief of staff

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Southpointe-based attorney James McCune has been appointed to serve as chief of staff for the Washington County commissioners for the next six months.

McCune will work on an interim basis beginning July 1 through the end of the year as he replaces outgoing chief of staff Michael Namie, who announced earlier this month he was retiring on June 30.

The commissioners voted unanimously Thursday afternoon during their regular meeting to select McCune for the role and agreed to pay him $51,905 for his work over the final six months of 2023.

During a phone interview before the meeting, McCune said the commissioners approached him about two weeks ago to gauge his interest in working as chief of staff, and he agreed to come aboard with the understanding that he would leave at the end of the year when a new board takes office in January.

The 74-year-old South Strabane resident said he’ll continue working at Bowles Rice law firm in Cecil Township while serving as chief of staff, but he would spend the “majority” of his time each day working on county business.

“I’ll be in the county office every day. I don’t know how many hours it will be,” McCune said. “I’m not sure what is expected of me, but I expect it to be pretty much full time.”

McCune, who has been an attorney for nearly 50 years, said he thinks his previous experience as county solicitor in the 1990s gives him the knowledge to serve as chief of staff and hit the ground running.

“I don’t intend to take sides on anything,” McCune said. “Just do my job and let the chips fall where they may.”

Commission Chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan said McCune was an obvious choice for the position since he will be ready to work on the first day on the job.

“He brings a great amount of knowledge and experience to the position,” Irey Vaughan said. “We need the coordination role and assistance in our offices, especially with the enormous amount of Right-To-Know requests that are coming through our door.”

Irey Vaughan, the longtime Republican commissioner, announced earlier this year that she was retiring when her term expires in early January, meaning majority control of the board will hinge on the results of the upcoming general election in November. Democrats Larry Maggi and Cindy Fisher are running against Republicans Nick Sherman and Electra Janis, with three of them being elected to the board barring a run by an independent candidate.

That means many leadership positions could change depending on who wins, which McCune said made him a natural fit for the interim role.

“I think it will be a challenge,” McCune said. “I think it will be fun, and hopefully I can do some good. Obviously I wouldn’t be a candidate for a full-time job (after Jan. 1).”

Namie was appointed chief of staff in January 2022 after retiring from the elected position as county controller after serving five terms in office. He replaced John Haynes, who was hired to the newly created position of chief of staff in January 2020 and left county government for unknown reasons in December 2021.

Also during the meeting, the county commissioners approved one-time payments to the Washington School District and city of Washington as part of a negotiated agreement over the tax-exempt status of the Crossroads Building in Washington. As part of the agreements, the county will pay the school district $164,000 and will give $104,000 to the city “in exchange for the mutually agreed upon exemption status and future exemption conditions of the property.”

The building at 95 W. Beau St. in the city had been privately owned until the county purchased it for $10 million in December 2020, which meant portions of the building are no long subject to property taxes, except for office space that was leased by private parties. That left a significant revenue shortfall for the school district and city with most of the property considered tax-exempt, which Irey Vaughan said the negotiated payment would rectify.

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