Franklin County commissioners will consider appointing a public works design engineer to the public works director position today. County Administrator Fred Bowen said he will recommend commissioners appoint Matt Mahoney to the position left vacant when commissioners fired former public works Director Tim Fife.

Bowen declined to comment further about the appointment until commissioners have a chance to consider Mahoney for the position.

The resolution before commissioners today would set Mahoney's pay at $79,606 per year if he is appointed to the director position. That would be a $3,446 raise from his current annual salary.

Fife was also the county engineer, but commissioners decided to split the job and make the director a stronger administrative position.

Commissioners hired Matthew S. Rasmussen, a civil engineer at Kennewick's Meier Architecture Engineering, to be the county's assistant public works director and county engineer last month at a $69,000-a-year salary.

Guy Walters, the assistant director, plans to retire but has been serving as interim director while the county went through the hiring process.

County commissioners fired Fife in March, claiming he did not do enough to prevent the alleged embezzlement of about $2.8 million by Dennis Huston, the county's former public works accounting manager.