There’s good news and bad news from Ventura County.

The good news is that the Board of Supervisors will establish job requirements for the office of county treasurer, effectively eliminating Assemblymember Audra Strickland from consideration.

The bad news is that it wasn’t done years ago.

Highly paid government administrators must have the education, background and job experience that fit the responsibilities and requirements of their positions, whether they’re in Washington, D.C., or city hall in Thousand Oaks.

Please don’t jump to conclusions.

We like Strickland. She’s been a reasonably effective legislator representing a predominantly Republican district. But to reward her with an easily picked “political plum,” a highly desirable government job that pays $150,000 per year, is folly. Everyone, Republicans, Democrats and nonpartisans alike, should want the best people for all government jobs.

Without minimum standards, it smelled like nepotism.

Strickland, as a conservative GOP officeholder, called for lower taxes. That, and balancing a family checkbook, are inadequate qualifications to oversee the collection of $1 billion in property taxes, handle $4 billion in financial transactions and manage $2 billion in retirement investments.

Strickland’s resume didn’t fit the job description.

It didn’t come close.

Of greater concern, however, to the taxpayers of Ventura County is how executive management positions didn’t already have minimum qualifications.

It’s totally ridiculous they weren’t specified years ago.

Whoever is responsible for this incredible oversight should be called onto the carpet.

The Board of Supervisors certainly shouldn’t be gloating that they did the right thing.

They should be scratching their collective heads and wondering why it wasn’t accomplished a very long time ago.