Benton County Commissioners have appointed Rick Crager as their county administrator.
That’s the top job at the county, with duties similar to a CEO. Crager had already been doing the job on an interim basis after the abrupt resignation of his predecessor in February.
Crager previously was the county’s CFO and assistant administrator. Before moving to Benton County, Crager held a leadership position overseeing school funding at the Oregon Department of Education.
In a press release, county commissioners said they chose Crager because of his work on the budget and internal Benton County, and Oregon, experience. County Commissioner Pat Malone said choosing a qualified internal candidate, instead of going through an expensive national search process, was also the best choice.
“Rick has been a huge asset to Benton County in all his roles,” Malone said. “He has decades of experience in various areas of government, and tremendous professionalism. The Board is thrilled that he agreed to step up and permanently fill the county administrator position.”
