Summit County Council unanimously appoints Shane Scott as county manager, approves contract

The Summit County Council unanimously appointed Shane Scott as county manager and approved his three-year employment contract at a special meeting. The contract sets a starting salary of $205,000 and includes standard county benefits and a residency requirement.

David Thomas, who presented the contract, said, “It appoints Shane Scott as the county manager, with a term of 3 years to begin on February 2023.” The agreement includes health, dental and life insurance, participation in URS (tier 1), front-loaded sick leave (96 hours), relocation reimbursement up to $10,000 and performance evaluations after the first six months and annually thereafter.

The contract requires the manager to live in Summit County by Aug. 1, 2023. If the county does not acquire a residence for the manager, the agreement provides a $2,000 monthly housing stipend beginning on the earlier of Aug. 1 or the date the manager actually moves into a Summit County residence, David Thomas said. Council members asked whether the stipend would be paid if the manager failed to reside in the county by that date; Thomas said that failure to meet the residency requirement would constitute a breach of the agreement.

A motion to appoint “Shane Clay Scott as the new manager of Summit County and to approve the employment contract that has been presented” was moved and seconded; Speaker 1 announced the motion carried unanimously. The council also authorized the chair to execute the employment contract on the county’s behalf.

Shane Scott, who the council and staff said had already signed the contract, thanked the council after the vote: “I’m just very, very excited about this and, grateful for your vote of confidence,” he said, and added he was eager to “call Summit County home.” Council members discussed transition timing with Scott, noting he expected to give his current employer notice and that Feb. 7 was a target date mentioned for part of the transition timeline; the council also requested he hold Jan. 20 open for onboarding activities.

Council members used the meeting to thank interim county manager Janet Young and county staff for maintaining operations during the vacancy. Speaker 1 said the search had involved an external recruiter, community members and department heads and noted a state law requiring the council to wait until newly elected members were seated delayed the final selection until Candace Hart was sworn in.

The council said communications staff would issue a joint press release after adjournment to notify municipal officials and the public of the appointment. No public comments were taken and the council adjourned after completing the appointment vote.