Cayce council appoints Deputy City Manager Mike Conley as city manager effective July 3

The Cayce City Council appointed Deputy City Manager Mike Conley as city manager effective July 3, 2025, in a 3-1 roll call vote at a special meeting June 23 in Council Chambers. Council Member Hunter Sox moved the appointment and Council Member Phil Carter seconded; Mayor Pro Tem Tim James and Council Members Carter and Sox voted yes while Mayor Elise Partin voted no. Council Member Byron Thomas attended by phone and was recorded as not voting on any matter.

The appointment followed an executive session to discuss employment matters related to City Manager position interviews. Council directed staff to negotiate an employment contract for Conley and return the contract for consideration at the next council meeting.

Mayor Elise Partin said the city had "been blessed with many great internal and external candidates" and described Mr. Conley as a candidate with strengths in supporting staff so they can serve Cayce residents. She said Conley "knew that she would support him 100%" and that she looked forward to working with him as a team, although she recorded a no vote on the appointment.

Council Member Byron Thomas, who participated by phone, was noted in the record as saying he "would 100% support Mr. Conley" and that he was "excited to see the City move forward," but the minutes state he did not vote on any matter during the meeting.

The motion to appoint described the start date (July 3, 2025) and tied the appointment to the terms and contract discussed in executive session; the council explicitly directed staff to negotiate the contract and bring it back at the next meeting for formal consideration. The minutes state no substantive votes were taken during executive session other than to adjourn and resume the regular meeting.

The meeting opened at 7:30 a.m. with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance and adjourned at 8:47 a.m.