Accountability > Who's Actually Running the County?

Question: Why did Lincoln County Board of Commissioner Chair Claire Hall step down from her role as Acting County Administrator, just hours after being appointed to the role by the BOC on November 5, 2025, without any public discussion, or announcement? Who's actually running the County now?

Answer: HR Director David Collier.

The Full Story

Our County Administrator, Tim Johnson, resigned in early February. On February 5, 2025, the BOC appointed Chair Claire Hall to be our Acting County Administrator, due to Johnson's resignation. On April 16, 2025, the BOC appointed Chair Hall a second time, with the Order expiring on July 15, 2025, according to the minutes of the meeting.

Then, on November 5, 2025, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners voted to appoint Chair Hall as Acting County Administrator, a third time.  This Order allowed the Acting County Administrator to "designate person(s)" to act as our County Administrator, at "their discretion." 

Surprisingly,  just hours after Chair Hall was appointed as Acting County Administrator, she stepped down from the role, and designated HR Director David Collier to the role. How do we know this? A county staffer emailed Commissioner Casey Miller days later that this had occurred. Watch:

Why did Chair Hall not alert the public that she was going to step away from the role that very day? And why did she not even alert her fellow Commissioners she had done this? Is this being accountable to her constituents?

Notes

The November 5, 2025 Order was not retroactive, so during the period from July 16, 2025 until November 4, 2025, no one was legally authorized to act as our County Administrator. Surprisingly, during this four month period, Chair Hall continued to act as County Administrator, signing contracts and other important documents. It is unclear what the legal ramifications are of her signing documents which she had no legal authority to sign.

The November 5, 2025 Order does not state that once Chair Hall designates another person to be our Administrator, that she would be able to take back the role. Based on the Order, the person she designated would need to voluntarily "designate" Chair Hall back to the position.

Last updated 12/22/25 8:45pm