Ousted Yolo County counsel hired by El Dorado

By Kathryn Reed

Beginning Sept. 2, El Dorado County will have a new county counsel.

Ed Knapp is retiring effective Aug. 29. Taking his place is Robyn Drivon.

Robyn Drivon

Per state law, county counsels serve four-year terms.

“There was about a year and a half left in Lou (Green’s) term when he retired, so the board appointed me as county counsel to fill out the last year and a half of Lou’s term. That term ended May 5, 2014. I advised the board that I didn’t want to put my name in for the next four-year term since I’m 65 years old and didn’t particularly relish the prospect of working until I was 69,” Knapp told Lake Tahoe News.

Knapp started with the county as assistant counsel in the early 1990s.

Drivon’s term in Yolo County ended April 5. However, this is from the Feb. 19 Davis Enterprise, “The Board of Supervisors emerged from closed session last week with a two-sentence statement announcing that recruitment would be getting under way for a replacement for current County Counsel Robyn Drivon, but no additional information or explanation was provided. Evaluation of the county counsel, however, was one of the items on the closed session agenda.”

Drivon was hired by Yolo County in 2006 as chief counsel, having spent a year as assistant. She also was interim chief administrative officer in 2009.

She has been hired by El Dorado County at step 5, which has a salary range between $12,833.60 and $15,600 per month.

Stephanie McCorkle, public information officer for El Dorado, said finalizing the contract would occur before Drivon starts.

The July 14 El Dorado County supes’ meeting minutes say, “She is hired at step 5 of the salary range plus contingent upon board approval on an open agenda item the 5 percent salary increase already scheduled to commence in January 2015 will be accelerated to her start date plus she will be given credit for 80 hours of vacation and 80 hours of sick leave on her start date.”