Indian Trail board can't do administrator's job

The Indian Trail Improvement District board has such little faith in its staff that boarde members want to put themselves where they don't belong -- in charge of day-to-day activities.

The board, hopelessly split 3-2 on most issues, has a hard enough time determining policy. What makes board members believe the 50-employee, million-dollar district needs to be governed by a five-headed monster?

Yet that appears to be what the board has in mind to replace office manager Fran Holden, an underpaid, underqualified replacement for Ed Oppel, who left his job as district administrator in February. Under a proposal floated Wednesday, the new position would be called "district manager," but the new manager would not be in charge. The manager would be an equal to other department heads and all would answer to the five board members.

The nice thing about a strong administrator is that he or she can absorb the political heat, freeing employees to focus on their jobs. This board is hardly the place to experiment with untested innovations. Meetings are characterized by harsh and petty exchanges. On Wednesday, board member Carol Francis banged on the table because she had been interrupted. When member Christopher Karch asked her to stop, she refused "because you won't shut up." The district finance director was reprimanded for explaining the budget to reporters after board member Penny Riccio disputed the figures.

Intrusive daily control by this board would cause more employees to flee and leave more Acreage residents in the lurch. This board, more than most, needs to put a professional in charge.