Benton County announces appointment of new county administrator
Rick Crager has been appointed county administrator effective June 1 after serving three months as acting and interim county administrator. The Benton County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously in the May 26 meeting to approve the appointment.
Crager came to Benton County in 2021 as chief financial officer. In March 2024 he was promoted to assistant county administrator. The job of acting county administrator fell to him when the position was vacated in February of this year.
In March the Board appointed Crager interim county administrator through June 30 while they weighed their options for permanently filling the position. After careful consideration, they chose to proceed with a direct appointment.
The Board did not feel that the long and costly process of a national leadership search would result in a better candidate than the one temporarily filling the position.
“Rick has been a huge asset to Benton County in all his roles,” said Board Chair Pat Malone. “He has decades of experience in various areas of government, and tremendous professionalism. The Board is thrilled that he agreed to step up and permanently fill the county administrator position.”
Promoting an internal candidate who has all the desired qualifications and skills is the best possible scenario for the County. The leadership transition can be quick and almost seamless.
“Rick created the last two biennial budgets, so he knows the big picture of County operations better than anyone,” said Malone. “He is also very well-liked and respected by the leadership team and everyone who works with him.”
The Board also considers Crager’s appointment as an opportunity to mitigate current and future budget challenges. Reductions in federal funding initiated in 2025 led to budget shortfalls in local governments across the state and country. All Benton County departments were asked to reduce spending in the 25-27 budget period.
Following Crager’s new appointment, the assistant county administrator position will not be filled at this time. Instead, the County will reorganize the BOC Office to ensure staff are effectively supported in their day-to-day operations while giving the county administrator position the time and space to work more strategically with the Board of Commissioners and Department Heads in meeting the service needs of the community.
As CFO, Crager led the creation of the $485 million 2023-25 biennium budget. The same year, the County received a credit upgrade from Moody’s Investor Services.
As assistant county administrator, Crager oversaw seven public-facing departments: Assessment; Community Development; Community Health Centers; Health Services; Juvenile Services; Natural Areas, Parks & Events; and Public Works.
Crager was serving simultaneously as assistant county administrator and acting Chief Financial Officer when he led the creation of the $540 million 2025-27 biennium budget.
Before joining Benton County, Crager dedicated more than three decades to public service with the State of Oregon. His statewide leadership roles in finance and policy spanned various sectors including housing, education, transportation and public safety, demonstrating his versatility and depth of expertise. In 2006, Governor Ted Kulongski appointed Crager to lead the Ending Homelessness Advisory Council (EHAC) that created Oregon initial 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness.
Crager was also the assistant superintendent of finance and information technology for the Oregon Department of Education. In that role, he collaborated closely with school districts across the state, overseeing the allocation and administration of over $9 billion of resources for Oregon’s schools.
Crager is a lifelong Oregonian and proud Beavers fan. He graduated from Linfield College with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, with a special focus in Finance.