Hart County approves revised public works director job description, authorizes recruitment

The Hart County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve an amended public works director job description and to authorize the county administrator to advertise the position with a target onboarding date of Jan. 1.

Commissioners discussed specific additions requested during the meeting. A staff speaker identified three substantive amendments: adding responsibility for risk management (moving liability insurance oversight and related facility responsibilities to public works), ensuring compliance with and training on the employee handbook, and developing succession plans for key positions. "...we talked about adding the risk management under there to take that off of Terrell. That will be our liability insurance and all that stuff, which is primarily driven by public works and facilities," the speaker said while summarizing the proposed changes.

Commissioner Dorsey moved to approve the job description with the amendments; Commissioner Brown seconded. The board voted 5-0 to approve the description and then voted 5-0 to authorize the county administrator to begin recruitment and advertising with the goal of placing a new director by Jan. 1, subject to notice periods and the hiring process.

The changes shift several administrative responsibilities to the public works office and establish succession-planning as an explicit duty. County staff will proceed with the recruitment process and report back as candidates are identified and interviews scheduled.