Dismiss Bean and Lee

Hillsborough County's two top appointed officials and the county auditor face a noon deadline to resign. It's another low political moment for a county government with more than its share of low moments.

If the three don't quit, and they have said they won't, Commission Chairman Ken Hagan has threatened to lead an effort Wednesday to fire them all - County Administrator Pat Bean, County Attorney Renee Lee, and John Barnes, the auditor who answers to the elected board.

Bean has used bad judgment in giving herself a raise without the knowledge of her board. Lee gave Bean poor legal advice about that raise, and both appear to have been willing to break rules to get e-mails from Barnes' office concerning a state investigation of the raise fiasco.

The board should fire Bean and Lee. The county needs visionary leadership, which Bean is not providing, and it needs reliable legal counsel, which Lee is not providing.

Commissioners should consider whether any private firm would tolerate such leadership.

These administrators serve at the pleasure of the board. Yet Lee hired a lawyer who berated the board at length last week in an obvious attempt at intimidation.

Barnes, to our knowledge, has not committed a firing offense, but the office is misplaced. Created by a charter amendment, the auditor answers directly to the board, which sets up a permanent conflict with the appointed administrator. The charter should be changed to eliminate the post; independent audits can be contracted as needed by the board.

Also on Wednesday, the board will again try to agree on the details of a transportation referendum. After deciding last year to work toward a November vote to increase the local sales tax by one penny for rail, more buses and highway improvements, commissioners bogged down over the wording of the ordinance and other details. Bean has been unhelpful in framing the choices.

Some Bean supporters say that budget-writing season is a bad time to fire the administrator, and this year would be especially awkward because the county is facing another revenue shortfall. But last year, some of the best ideas came from citizens or commissioners, not from Bean. The county has a capable staff that can prepare a balanced budget.

A national search to replace Bean will take months, but smart administrators are available locally to take control temporarily.

Another flawed argument for keeping Bean is that the best applicants will not consider the post because its future is uncertain. A petition drive, if successful, will give voters in November the chance to create the new position of elected county mayor.

The administrator's job may end in a few years, but meanwhile, it offers great pay, good benefits, power and status. There will be no shortage of qualified candidates.

The underlying problem inside the Fred B. Karl County Center is the weak structure of county government.

That's also how Fred Karl sees it. Karl, a former county administrator, points out that no one person is in charge of county government.

The commission chairman has no real power beyond presiding at the meetings, and the county administrator answers to a majority of the elected commissioners.

An elected mayor would bring a new level of leadership and accountability to the unincorporated area, which now needs all the services of any big city.

How to handle the budget, the rail plan, the auditor, the grassroots push for mayor, the economic slowdown and much more are tough challenges. It is increasingly clear that solving these problems will be easier without Bean and Lee than with them.