What the heck is going on in the Coos County Assessor’s Office? Don’t bother asking Assessor Bob Main. He doesn’t seem to know.

Friday’s paper revealed that Main’s right-hand man has been on paid leave all month — evidently because of a sexual harassment investigation. Adam Colby’s absence is a big deal, because he’s not just the chief deputy, he’s also the assessor-elect. He’ll replace Main in January, when Main becomes a county commissioner.

Yet Main told a World reporter last week that Colby’s banishment was news to him. “I thought he was on vacation,” Main said.

You see, Main was on vacation himself during part of the month. Thus his surprise about Colby’s disappearance. Main also professed ignorance about two tort claims alleging harassment in his office. “I’ve heard rumors,” he said.

A number of elements of this story defy credulity. For instance:

n Colby says he was put on paid leave, but no one will confirm that or say who made the decision. Who, other than the assessor himself, has that authority?

n Assuming it was someone other than the mystified Main, why didn’t that someone tell the assessor? Why didn’t Colby himself call his boss with the news?

n Who ran the assessor’s office while Main and Colby were both gone? Why didn’t that person notify Main?

n Is it customary for the two top bosses in the assessor’s office to go on vacation at the same time?

Main’s professed bewilderment supports two possible explanations. One, he’s lying. Two, he’s out of touch with his own bailiwick — which might explain how sexual harassment allegedly could go on under his nose.

The tort claims, which are legal precursors to suits against the county, were filed by two indignant female employees. We won’t judge the claims’ merits, but the allegations fit the usual pattern of such cases.

Nearly every workplace has occasional complaints about inappropriate behavior. Good managers squash the childishness promptly, and the work goes on. Most lawsuits occur when managers are accused of ignoring the problems.

That’s pretty much the county’s situation. A supervisor is accused of juvenile antics such as slapping women’s backsides. Colby himself is accused of being short-tempered and verbally abusive. Main and the county are accused of inaction.

We can’t judge whether these allegations are true. What’s more troubling, at the moment, is Main’s portrait of himself as a befuddled bystander. “I’ve heard rumors.”

Come on. The assessor’s office is not some hulking bureaucracy where people get lost in the crowd. It has 17 employees. You don’t have to be Donald Trump to run an operation that size.

Can we expect this same level of efficiency and accountability from Main for the next four years?