Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Person County board restores county-manager hiring authority for economic development director
Loading...
Summary
After debate, the board voted 4–1 to revert recent changes to Economic Development Commission bylaws and return hiring and performance authority for the economic development director to the county manager; staff will return revised bylaws and a recruitment plan.
The Person County Board on April 20 voted 4–1 to return hiring and performance authority for the county’s economic development director to the county manager and to restore the EDC to an advisory role.
County Manager presented options for whether economic development should remain a county department or become a separate public authority; she highlighted statutory duties that vest hiring and firing authority in the county manager and recommended returning to the prior arrangement while keeping EDC input in the selection process. Commissioners debated a range of options—some proposing a hybrid model that preserved strong EDC involvement while maintaining manager authority—but a motion to revert the bylaws to the prior structure carried 4–1.
The board asked staff to return revised bylaws at the next meeting, said the manager would conduct a salary survey and produce a recruitment plan that would include EDC participation in the selection process. The manager also signaled she will seek to ensure EDC involvement while maintaining clear lines of supervisory authority.
The motion passed with four votes in favor and one opposed; the board directed staff to prepare the revised bylaws and to bring a job posting and recruitment plan forward on a short timeline.
