Galatioto not done quite yet

Even though County Administrative Officer Jeannine Galatioto is officially retiring today, she’s not leaving her job yet.

On Tuesday, the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors appointed Galatioto the interim county administrative officer, starting Thursday and serving until January.

Galatioto announced at the end of September that she was going to take advantage of an early retirement incentive, which many other county employees have also chosen to do.

After the board meeting Tuesday morning, Galatioto said she’s staying on because “it’s in the county’s best interest” that she finish several projects.

“There are a bunch of projects in the works, that should be complete by Dec. 31,” she said.

It would be hard to get a new county administrative officer up to speed in  that short amount of time to complete those projects, she said.

“I plan on working as much as I need to work,” she said.

The board did not talk about how to find a replacement for Galatioto on Tuesday. Galatioto said the board will pick up that discussion in January.

Also on Tuesday, the board recognized several other county employees who have recently retired: Ernest Perry, director of community development; Lynn Mitchell, assistant treasurer/tax-collector; Pamela Owen, staff services analyst; Margie Clark, supervising laundry worker; Joseph Hoke, road superintendent; Wilma Madden, administrative assistant; Frank Madden, grade checker/relief equipment operator; and Michael Seamen, sheriff’s sergeant.