Rick Crager has been appointed as Benton County’s permanent county administrator, effective June 1, following three months in the acting and interim roles.
The Benton County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously at its May 26 meeting to make the appointment, bypassing a national search in favor of promoting from within.
Crager joined the county in 2021 as chief financial officer and was promoted to assistant county administrator in March 2024. He stepped into the acting county administrator role in February after the position was vacated, and the board formally named him interim county administrator in March while weighing options for a permanent hire.
“Rick has been a huge asset to Benton County in all his roles,” said Pat Malone, board chair. “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.”
The commissioners cited Crager’s institutional knowledge as a key factor in the decision, noting that he developed the county’s last two biennial budgets.
Budget considerations also factored into the appointment. Reductions in federal funding beginning in 2025 created shortfalls for local governments across Oregon and the country, and Benton County departments were asked to reduce spending during the 2025-27 budget cycle. Following Crager’s promotion, the county does not plan to fill the now-vacant assistant county administrator position, instead reorganizing the Board of Commissioners office.
As CFO, Crager led development of the county’s $485 million 2023-25 biennium budget, a period in which the county received a credit upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service. He also led creation of the $540 million 2025-27 budget while simultaneously serving as acting CFO and assistant county administrator.
In the assistant county administrator role, Crager oversaw seven public-facing departments — Assessment, Community Development, Community Health Centers, Health Services, Juvenile Services, Natural Areas, Parks and Events, and Public Works.
Before joining Benton County, Crager spent more than three decades in public service with the State of Oregon, with leadership roles spanning housing, education, transportation and public safety. In 2006, Gov. Ted Kulongoski appointed him to lead the Ending Homelessness Advisory Council, which developed Oregon’s initial 10-year plan to address homelessness. He also served as assistant superintendent of finance and information technology for the Oregon Department of Education, where he helped oversee allocation of more than $9 billion in resources for Oregon schools.
Crager is a lifelong Oregonian and a graduate of Linfield College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting.