LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The county of Lake said a new assistant county administrative officer has been named.
Stephen L. Carter Jr., was appointed to the job effective Monday, July 25, according to the County Administrative Office.
Susan Parker, who was hired as county administrative officer out of a pool of six candidates in May following a brief recruitment, appointed Carter to fill her former position.
If county hiring practices so far are any indication, this development puts Carter in line to eventually succeed Parker as county administrative officer.
Both Parker and Carter were hires of former County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson, who retired at the end of April.
In a written statement the county released on Monday afternoon. Parker said that in his new role Carter “will bring even broader leadership, particularly to our economic development efforts.”
Parker’s statement continued, “His understanding of county finance and our organizational history and norms make Stephen ideally suited to identifying areas where the county can help accelerate economic growth. He will also continue to be an important figure in ensuring responsible stewardship of public funds in Lake County. I could not be more excited to see what comes next, and continue to support Mr. Carter’s growth.”
“I look forward to serving Lake County’s communities in new ways,” Carter said in the county’s statement. “This is my home, and I have always had a strong desire to help ensure our county is a great place for people to work and raise a family. County government can be an effective partner to local businesses, by ensuring a level playing field, effectively planning and communicating investments in infrastructure and identifying opportunities to bring in state and federal monies. I am humbled by this opportunity, and looking forward to digging in and contributing as much as possible.”
Carter’s LinkedIn page said he has been with the county since June 2010.
County and state records show that Carter previously worked in the county’s Social Services Department as a staff services analyst before being brought over to the County Administrative Office in 2016, the year Huchingson moved in the county administrative officer role.
The county statement said Carter has served in fiscal leadership positions with the county for seven years.
Since August of 2016, the county’s statement said Carter has prepared financial forecasts to support countywide fiscal planning and management activities, and served as a “trusted authority” on the Board of Supervisors’ purchasing policies and practices.
“County staff in financially-focused roles know him to be an effective trainer and highly creative problem solver, informed by years of experience and a strong theoretical foundation in business administration,” the county’s statement said.
The statement didn’t explain in what capacity Carter developed the economic development experience Parker referenced.
The county also did not outline any of Carter's formal educational background. The assistant county administrative officer position requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in public administration, business administration, political science, communications or a closely related field.
With both the Department of Social Services and county administration, the county said Carter has “successfully administered” tens of millions in critical grant funding, including work with the County’s Community Development Block Grant efforts.
The county credited Carter with having a significant role in developing the annual budget.
The recommended 2022-23 fiscal year budget, which the board accepted in June, totals $337 million. Final budget hearings are scheduled for September.
During the county’s June budget hearings, Carter warned the Board of Supervisors that changes to the county’s cannabis revenues are resulting in the use of the funds not being sustainable in the long term.
He estimated that if the county hires all of its positions, it’s going to get to a point within three years where it will not have enough ongoing revenue from cannabis, which casts doubt on the overall sustainability of the county’s annual budget.
That’s important because Huchingson and her staff, who pushed through $21 million in raises for staff in just over a year during the pandemic, largely tied those raises to cannabis revenues.
Transparent California, a website that tracks public employee pay and benefits, shows the impact those raises had on Carter’s pay, raising him from $92,220 annually as chief deputy county administrative officer in 2020 to $124,048 for the same job title in 2021.
In his new position, the pay range is from $137,988 to $167,736 annually. The county did not report at which step Carter will begin his new job.
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Carter appointed assistant county administrative officer
- Elizabeth Larson
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