Alleghany County commissioners elect Bill Osborne chair, name Timmy Evans vice chair and approve 2025 organizational slate

The Alleghany County Board of Commissioners elected Bill Osborne as chair and Timmy Evans as vice chair during its organizational meeting, approved a slate of committee and intergovernmental appointments and adopted governance documents for 2025.

Osborne won the chair position after an initial nomination for another candidate failed. After the vote the new chairman said he intended to set aside partisan differences. "I'm not a political guy. I don't — politics shouldn't be here tonight. We're gonna work for everybody," Osborne said in his acceptance remarks.

The board also selected Timmy Evans as vice chair by voice/hand vote. The board reappointed Daniel Atkins as clerk and confirmed a deputy clerk (April, last name not specified in the meeting record).

Commissioners appointed Heather Klon as county attorney after clarifying terms of the engagement. Board members were told the appointment follows the county’s rules of procedure and relevant statute, and is for a 12-month term. The county attorney’s office provides a monthly invoice for services; the transcript record states the billing as "2.25 per hour," as described during the meeting.

Votes at a glance: all officers and committee appointments recorded in the meeting packet were moved and seconded and carried by voice or hand vote unless otherwise noted; the motion to dissolve the nominating committee passed unanimously 5-0 and the board adopted its rules of procedure and code of ethics by majority voice vote.

The body filled dozens of seats on advisory boards and intergovernmental bodies. Appointments confirmed during the meeting included nominees for the Agriculture Advisory Board; Blue Ridge RC&D; Building & Grounds/Facilities Committee (including court security and renovation responsibilities); Pension Advisory Leadership Committee; local firegrounds and fire commission representation; High Country Council of Governments; Regional Planning Organization (RPO) advisory and RTAC rural transportation representation; workforce development and home & community care block grant advisory committees; juvenile prevention; Chamber of Economic Development (to be updated on the county list to "Alleghany County Chamber of Commerce"); Local Emergency Planning Committee; regional advisory board; Northwest Regional Library Board; Partnership for Children; Carolina Water Authority representation; Veterans Advisory Committee; and a school-board liaison assignment. Individual names and assignments were recorded on the meeting roster and approved by the board during the session.

The board voted to dissolve its nominating committee after a discussion in which several commissioners said the full board can review and act on appointments without a standing nominating subgroup. "If those nominations are being brought to the board for consideration, you're bringing the information and then later you're voting on it at the next meeting," a commissioner said during the debate.

Commissioners adopted the board rules of procedure and the code of ethics as presented, and staff noted an update to bank signature authorizations tied to the change in officers; no board action was required for the signature changes. The board adopted the 2025 Alleghany County holiday schedule (following the state Office of State Human Resources calendar) and approved the board’s 2025 meeting calendar, which maintains a first-Monday evening meeting and a mid-month morning meeting, and includes optional joint meetings with towns and the school system.

County Manager Bill Shifler, introduced earlier in the meeting, urged continued cooperation among county government, towns and the school board and praised county staff. "I am very encouraged by what I've seen here tonight," Shifler said, asking the board and administration to build and maintain relationships across local government entities.

Several commissioners used their remarks to invite residents to local events, to propose community outreach such as canned food drives, to remind colleagues of required ethics training, and to emphasize fiscal restraint and staff morale.

A school groundbreaking date was announced in the meeting record; staff identified the ceremony for Dec. 6 (noted in the packet as the scheduled date). With no further business, the board adjourned.

Note on sources and uncertainty: article draws from the board’s public meeting transcript. Some names and spellings in the transcript were inconsistent (for example, variants of the county manager’s last name and the county attorney’s invoice reference); where the meeting packet or speakers gave a clear name, that name is used. Numeric details stated during the meeting (for example the county attorney billing described in the transcript as "2.25 per hour") are reported as they were described on the record.