County to get new ag chief

MODESTO -- Milton O'Haire, assistant agricultural commissioner for Stanislaus County, is expected to take over his boss's job in March.

Gary Caseri, the county ag commissioner and sealer of weights and measures, plans to retire March 1 after five years in the dual role. Last week, the Board of Supervisors promoted O'Haire to the position for a four-year term.

Supervisors approved an annual salary of $120,400 for O'Haire, a 10 percent increase from his current salary. His actual pay will be $113,170 because of the across-the-board 6 percent salary cut implemented by county leaders in July.

The ag commissioner regulates pesticide use and helps make sure the county is free of bugs that can damage crops. The weights and measures sealer ensures the integrity of 9,000 devices used in business transactions in the county, including gasoline pumps, taxi meters and livestock scales.

According to agenda documents, O'Haire has worked more than 30 years in county agriculture departments. Before joining the county's staff in 1999, he was with San Joaquin County for 16 years, working in various positions until he was promoted to deputy sealer of weights and measures.

O'Haire went to work for the county in June 1999 as a deputy agriculture sealer. He was promoted to assistant agricultural commissioner in June 2002. He has a bachelor's degree in geography from California State University, Stanislaus.

O'Haire will manage 35 employees and a $4.8 million annual budget. Because of the special licenses needed for the work and a limited pool of candidates, it can be hard to fill managerial jobs in the agriculture department, officials said.

Starting in 1978, Caseri was the agricultural commissioner in Tuolumne County for seven years and assistant commissioner and sealer in Merced County.