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Board approves appointment to real property director amid calls for open hiring process
Summary
The Columbia County Board of Supervisors appointed a successor to the retiring director of real property tax services after debate about whether to limit tonight's appointment to the remainder of the term and complete an open hiring process later.
The Columbia County Board of Supervisors voted to appoint a staff member recommended by the retiring director as the next director of real property tax services, after heated discussion about following the county's standard hiring process.
Suzette Boyd, who the board recognized for 33 years of service and who served as director of real property tax services since 2003, told the board she has been training her successor for about 15 months. Boyd, at the meeting, said, "I enjoyed working for the county, but mostly, I've enjoyed working with the other members of the staff. It has been an absolute pleasure working with all of you."
Several supervisors said they support promoting from within but pressed for adherence to the county's established recruitment procedures: solicit letters of interest, appoint a bipartisan interview committee, interview candidates and then make a final appointment. One supervisor proposed an amendment to appoint the recommended internal candidate only for the remainder of Boyd's current term and to run the full competitive process before appointing someone to the next six-year term; that amendment was debated but not adopted before the roll-call vote.
A roll-call vote was held on the resolution that would appoint the recommended candidate for the remainder of the current term and for a full six-year term; the chairman declared the motion carried. The resolution number read into the record included 234 of 2025. The board did not conduct a separate advertised search or interview process at or before the meeting; several supervisors said they learned of the candidate through internal channels rather than a public recruitment.
Board members who raised process concerns said they would support the candidate for an interim appointment but wanted the public, and the full board through an interview committee, to participate in selecting a candidate for the full term. The board did not set a separate timeline for a public recruitment during the meeting.
