County administrator to retire after guiding growth for 16 years

When Flathead County Administrator Mike Pence reflects on all the teachable moments in his 45 years of government service, one project in particular springs to mind.

Pence, who has overseen the county's government operations since 2005, previously served as the city manager of Ocean Shores, Washington, a small coastal community on the Olympic Peninsula. And in the 1990s, he spent hundreds of hours planning and securing grant funding for a boardwalk that would have stretched more than a mile along the scenic coastline.

It seemed to Pence like a commonsense way to improve beach access and eliminate the need for pedestrians to trudge through deep sand dunes. But to his surprise the project drew immense opposition from community members – so much that the city ended up scrapping the plan and returning the grant money.

"I did learn from that. From that time forward, I was a little more careful," Pence said. "It wasn't that I was gunshy to do anything, but just more careful and considerate of the public input, or at least making more effort to get the public input before you press forward."

While the vice president who shares his name has fought to stay in the White House, Flathead County's Pence has turned his gaze toward retirement. He will leave his position at the end of March after 16 years at the helm of the county government. At 72, he said, it's just that time. The search for his replacement is underway.

After three years studying history and political science at Brigham Young University in Utah, Pence transferred and earned a degree in business management from Iowa's Buena Vista University. Combining those interests, he began his local government career in 1976 as a deputy county auditor in his hometown of Eldora, Iowa, where he grew up on a farm.

He was twice elected auditor there before holding city manager positions in Iowa, Washington state and Wyoming. He also spent five years as an administrator for the Quinault Indian Nation before landing in Flathead County.

Appointed by the county commissioners, Pence works with about 20 department heads and managers, oversees an operating budget of more than $100 million and has spearheaded numerous capital projects. He has been a source of stability when the county's elected leadership has changed; by the time he retires, he will have served under 11 different commissioners.

"One of the first things the commissioners asked me to do was try to find a way to fill the facilities needs that we had," Pence said. "With the growth in the Flathead and in the county, we were crammed in spaces, or they were spaces that weren't efficient and effective. The courthouse, before it was renovated and remodeled, was really in disrepair and needed a lot of work."

In addition to many improvements and expansions of county facilities, including the jail and the 118-year-old courthouse, Pence takes pride in exercising "fiscal discipline" and implementing a more rigorous budgeting system for county departments.

"The county didn't have any money to really do anything in regard to projects, physical building projects, so we had to get our fiscal house in order," he said. "And that's the bigger piece of what I've done over the years."

In addition to belt-tightening, Pence helped establish a multimillion-dollar savings account for whenever the county decides to build a new jail. The county loaned some of that money to the Flathead County Economic Development Authority and is now making it back with interest. It's a kind of disciplined saving practically "unheard of" in local government, he said.

Pence said he's also learned over the years how to respond to concerns from community members, "communicating with people and explaining to them our laws, processes and procedures."

"Most often, you can't totally satisfy their issues and concerns," he said. "But you can at least help educate them and help them feel like someone was listening to them."

Pence and his wife plan to travel the country in retirement, spending time with their six children and 25 grandchildren, before relocating someplace warmer and sunnier. Pence said he also wants to complete a service mission through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"What a great experience this has been," he said. "What a pleasure it's been to serve the citizens of Flathead County."

Reporter Chad Sokol can be reached at 758-4434 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com