Several weeks ago Coos County Assessor Adam Colby gave a presentation at a Bay Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon on “Turning Around an Underperforming Organization.” The first slide illustrated two men hauling a buggy, which seems apropos for an office that continues on bumpy path.

Since that luncheon two more employees have quit, another tort claim has been filed and the Oregon Department of Justice has requested the county appear in court related to the matter. That makes at least seven employees who have resigned or retired for various reasons since Colby took office in January, and 10 tort claims.

On Nov. 24, the county must show cause as to why it did not release documents to the Administration of the Workers’ Compensation Board related to a claim assessor’s employee Kay C. Roach filed. The state issued a subpoena on April 17.

The initial hearing will be held in a Marion County Circuit Court. Coos County Legal Counsel Jackie Haggerty said she will be filing a motion for a change of venue, which will likely be considered at next week’s court date.

“I was disappointed I couldn’t get the Department of Justice to file in Coos County, but they didn’t consult much with us,” Haggerty said. “It’s more convenient for the state to appear there.”

An administrative law judge ordered the county to turn over documents, which Haggerty argues are protected by attorney-client privileges. If she can’t prove that to a judge, the county would be in contempt of court and could be slapped with a sanction of $500 in fines for each day the contempt continues and forced to pay attorney fees and other costs.

“I think every attorney in the state should be concerned,” Haggerty said. “Attorney-client materials are not discoverable. The Workers’ Compensation Board is saying, ‘Yes, we have the right to those.’”

If ordered to do so, Haggerty said the county would hand over the papers.

“The county is not going to disobey a lawful order,” she said.

Roach’s workers’ compensation claim alleges Colby was the “major source of the creation of a hostile work environment and of claimant’s stress.”

An administrative law judge denied the claimant’s request for all documents involving Colby’s employment or the assessor’s office, because it was too broad. But, he did rule, any personnel records regarding investigations into the staffing or inter-workings of administration should be revealed.

Colby said he could not comment.

“I am not going to comment on legal matters,” Colby said. “I am going to press forward.”

An employee filed the 10th tort claim against Colby this month, after which two more employees quit. In Septem-ber, two employees also resigned, and four others said office stress pushed them to retire early.

“They have lost a lot of experience in that office,” said resignee Pat McCarthy, who worked in the office for almost five years. “I wanted to stick it out. I thought things were going to get better, but they didn’t.”

Colby said both of the latest positions have been posted online. He is interviewing six applicants this week — the majority of whom do not have appraisal licenses. Colby said, depending on the person, it takes about a month to study and pass the licensing exam, in the meantime, new employees are paid a training salary and can’t appraise property.

“This doesn’t set us back at all,” Colby said. “I'm looking for a certain kind of person, someone that is highly motivated and a self-starter.”