Leadership & Advisory Committees

The Benton County Board of Commissioners in collaboration with the Benton County Sheriff and County Administrator, are the primary decision-makers for the Justice System Improvement Program. The Board of Commissioners—with input from staff, advisory committees, and the public—are responsible for directing the County Administrator to implement the recommendations for the Justice System Improvement Program.

Executive Committee (2022)

The Executive Committee brings departmental leaders and elected representatives together to ensure an aligned and coordinated effort. The role of each committee member is to provide expertise and insight in their given area, ensure accountability for timely decision making, and to develop recommendations to advance the Justice System Improvement Program leading up to the Board of Commissioner’s decision to place a bond measure on the May 2023 ballot. This committee included elected officials and staff, including :

Sheriff Jefri Van Arsdall and District Attorney John Haroldson, Executive Co-Sponsors, Commissioner Xan Augerot, Honorable Locke A. Williams, Presiding Circuit Court Judge, Rick Crager, Chief Financial Officer, Suzanne Hoffman, County Administrator, former Health Department Director, Joe Kerby, former County Administrator, Nick Kurth, former JSIP Project Manager, Gary Stockhoff, Public Works Director, and Matt Wetherell, Juvenile Department Director.

Community Advisory Committee (2022)

The Community Advisory Committee was formed in 2020 to serve as advisors during the first round of community engagement. The committee includes a diverse collection of community members from across the County. The committee met from December 2020 to June 2021 and began meeting again in July 2022. This committee is a key link to the broader Benton County communities and provided input and feedback on evolving conceptual designs to ensure alignment with Benton County’s core values and the objectives of the 2018 assessment.

View the list of all current and previous Community Advisory Committee members

Technical Advisory Committee (2020)

This group met monthly starting in November 2020 and completed their work in June 2021. This committee included subject-matter experts, both internal to the County, as well as members at-large, who advised on issues spanning the justice system and relative to program objectives. The following individuals served on this committee:

Captain John Devaney, Benton County Sheriff’s Office

Chief Nick Hurley, (former Chief) Corvallis Police Department

Chief Marcia Harnden, Albany Police Department

Amie Matusko, Senior Deputy DA, District Attorney’s Office

Chris Westfall, Trial Court Administrator

Dannielle Brown, (former) Benton County Director Behavioral Health

Paul Wallsinger, Benton County Director Facilities

Representative, Benton County Finance

Representative, City of Corvallis Community Development

At-Large
Mike Flinn, Defense Consortium

At-Large
Professor David Trejo, OSU Engineering

At-Large
Professor Brett Burkhardt, OSU Sociology

At-Large
Stacy Mellem, Community Volunteer and Technical Advisory Committee liaison

At-Large
Rick Hein, Governor’s Citizen Representative, Willamette Criminal Justice Council

At-Large
Bill Bouska, Director of Community Solutions and Government Affairs, Samaritan Health Services

One or more of the at-large members served on the Community Advisory Committee in a liaison capacity. Other representatives from the City and County were invited to participate as needed.