Bob shiles
Staff writer
LUMBERTON — The search for a permanent Robeson County assistant county manager has begun.
The county advertised the position in Sunday’s edition of The Robesonian and is advertising the position and taking applications online at https//robesoncountycareers.com or www.co.robeson.nc.us.
According to County Manager Ricky Harris, the position to be filled is the one that has been held on an interim basis by Charles Britt, the county’s fire marshal and director of Emergency Services, since former Assistant County Manager Rod Jenkins left the position in June 2011 to become deputy director of Human Services for the Cumberland County Health Department.
The county in the past has had two assistant managers, but there has been only one since Harris became the county’s interim manager when former Manager Ken Windley left the position in November 2010. Windley is now executive director of COMtech. Harris was named permanent county manager in June.
It’s unclear if the county will return to having two assistant managers. When Windley was manager, Harris and Jenkins were assistant managers.
“The commissioners will have to decide if there will be a second assistant manager,” Harris said. “They have not made that decision yet.”
Harris, who will review applications and recommend to the commissioners who should get the job, would not comment Tuesday on whether Britt has applied for the position.
“That’s a personnel matter,” he said.
According to the advertisement for the job, the annual salary will be $79,424. All applicants must apply on line at https//robesoncountycareers.com or www.co.robeson.nc.us.
Among requirements for the job is graduation from a four-year college or university, with five to seven years of “increasingly responsible experience in administration and management in the public or private sector with knowledge of personnel practices or any equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the required skills, knowledge and abilities …”
A master’s degree, which has been required in previous searches for assistant managers, is not required.
If a competent, well qualified person gets the job, then Harris will have someone working for him that may make him feel insecure.
On the other hand, if the successful applicant is chosen based on anything other than valid qualifications then the county stands to suffer the consequences.
I'm not convninced that Harris is qualified to make such recommendations to the board and the board has done nothing to show that they are capable of making good hiring decisions.
The last, capable, assistant manager left for another job!