Another Franklin County HR director quits. Both blame a ‘toxic’ and ‘hostile’ workplace

Two Franklin County human resource directors have resigned in less than a year, each citing the “toxic” work environment at the county courthouse.

Resignation letters from Carlee Nave and her successor Eric Wyant say they needed to escape “elected officials” who put them in the middle of their fights.

Neither of the letters directly names which elected officials drove them to their decision. Elected positions include the county commissioners, as well as the auditor, assessor, treasurer, clerk, coroner, prosecutor and sheriff.

Nave resigned in late 2021 after nearly seven years with Franklin County, most of it as the head of Human Resources. She came to the county with eight years of experience in the HR industry.

She left Franklin County to take a position at Tri-Cities Community Health. According to the letter, she had promised County Administrator Keith Johnson that she planned to stick around until the next election, but the offer was too good.

Nave said Tri-Cities Community Health is “an organization where I do not have to worry about surprise public termination actions or public ridicule of myself and my peers.”

“I do not blame you for the environment,” the letter said. “You have been in an impossible position, under-resourced, under-supported and lacking the authority to make any significant impact.”

Wyant, who worked in the county HR department for six years, said he had been excited to be promoted to the head of the department, what was supposed to be the pinnacle of his HR career.

Instead, he wrote that he stepped into the same quagmire of toxicity, hostility and bullying from elected officials that Nave faced.

This was further complicated by “public scrutiny of my department by a majority of the commissioners. Public scrutiny that is not evenly applied to my peers’ departments even though my work product and performance has met or exceeded expectations.”

The two resignations are only the latest in a lengthy list of people who have fled the county in recent years, including former Public Works Director Matt Mahoney and Assessor Peter McEnderfer.

A Toxic Work Environment

Neither letter names specific people at fault for the hostile work environment, but the last couple years have seen several controversies create problems at the courthouse.

Some include bitter discussions among the three county commissioners, shouting members of the public at commission meetings, several investigations by Washington state agencies and an ongoing feud between Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond and jail union officials, Teamsters Local 839.

Nave and Wyant each laid the blame of continuing internal hostilities at the feet of elected officials and commissioners.

They also seemed to refer to two surprise attempts to fire county Administrator Keith Johnson in early 2021.

“I would like it to be clearly stated for the record that I am not leaving for the money,” Nave wrote. “I am leaving because of the way I, and other employees of the county, (are) treated by many elected officials and their allies.”

Those elected officials are “not afraid to throw their staff under the bus because they do not have the courage to lead.”

The people who step into that vacuum meet “resistance, isolation, bullying and outright retaliation.”

She couldn’t stand by and watch officials “unapologetically engage in unethical and unlawful behavior on a regular basis.”

Nave hoped the county would elect leaders that put the county’s obligations ahead of their own interests and who stand behind their decisions rather than blaming staff.

“I am proud of the work that I have accomplished over my seven years with the county, creating a strong professional HR foundation on which the organization can build the future,” she said. “I am even more proud to depart with my professional integrity intact, despite nearly constant pressure to compromise to further individual agendas.”

‘Toxicity par for the course’

Wyant took over the job in January, but said he couldn’t last a full year before the constant pressure became too much for him.

He said “toxicity is par for the course” when it comes to how the human resources director is treated.

“(It) has reached a point where I can no longer tolerate it, so I am making the choice to leave now with my professional integrity and reputation intact,” he said.

“It may seem ill-advised on my part to leave my employer with no new employment arranged and only a tentative plan to go back to school in place, but after witnessing surprise termination motions at board meetings and the very tumultuous way in which the board authorized you to offer me the position to begin with, I feel it’s best I follow my gut and move on before I find myself on the wrong side of politics of Franklin County.”

Wyant said he’s been placed in the middle of fights between elected officials as they try to use him to “keep up with one another..”

The jockeying has put him into too many positions where he has needed to balance his integrity and professionalism with needing to keep his job.

He believes that the elected officials who have sway with “the majority of the commissioners” are driving the situation. He said the next human resources manager will need to be more willing to go along with the political winds even if they fly in the face of modern human resource principals or even the law.

“I know that isn’t right and certainly not what I believe the citizens of Franklin County or its employees deserve, but without a change in elected leadership, that is the unfortunate reality at Franklin County,” he said.

Commissioner Clint Didier is the only county commissioner up for election this fall. He is facing Rick Miller, who served as a commissioner for 12 years before being ousted in 2018.

Sheriff Raymond is the only other elected official facing a challenger, Chris Turner, in November.

Wanted him to stay

Commissioners Clint Didier and Brad Peck often find themselves on opposite sides of issues, but they each said they wanted Wyant to stay.

“We tried to let Eric know that if he wants to reconsider he can,” Didier told the Tri-City Herald on Friday. “He’s done a good job.”

Didier wasn’t aware of Nave’s stated reasons for leaving. He said she just left for a better job.

Peck told the Herald that Wyant was an excellent Human Resources director and that it was a “significant loss to the county.”

“If people want to determine for themselves where these toxic behaviors are coming from, they may want to view the videos on the county website of the county commissioner meetings over the last four years,” Peck told the Herald.

Wyant’s departure comes as every area of Franklin County government is facing staffing shortages, Johnson said. Public agencies across the Tri-Cities are having trouble attracting qualified employees.

He expected the county would be able to manage hiring while the county searches for a new HR director. Though the director is involved with labor negotiations and personnel management.

“The HR function is critical to good government,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can with the circumstances we have.”

This story was originally published August 28, 2022 at 5:00 AM.