County administrator search will be topic of meeting next week

Grady County has been without an administrator for more than a month and county leaders still are not certain how they plan to go about hiring a new executive.
Longtime county administrator Rusty Moye died Sept. 27 and commissioners met Oct. 16 with a consultant who assists in the search and recruitment of managers and administrators, but commissioners have not moved forward.
“Where are we on the search for an administrator? I don’t know where we are with it,” Commissioner Al Ball said Tuesday.
“I don’t think any of us know where we are right now. We need to have a meeting and decide,” Chairman Elwyn Childs said.
The county commission heard a proposal from Tom Berry, a former interim Cairo city manager and interim executive director of the Grady County Joint Development Authority, at its Oct. 16 meeting. Berry, who has served in interim positions all over the state, has also assisted local governments in recruiting and selecting permanent replacements for top local government management positions.
Berry told commissioners he would coordinate the search and assist the commission in making a final selection for a fee not to exceed $5,000.
Since then, Vice Chairman Billy Poitevint and Commissioner T.D. David have met with officials from the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia to inquire about the possibility of any resources available through that organization.
On Tuesday during the commission’s regular meeting, Poitevint reported that ACCG does not conduct county administrator searches. He said that officials would check out the finalists to determine if any “red flags” come up once the finalists have been identified.
According to Poitevint, the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission also offers management search and recruitment services, but he does not know how much it would cost.
“What we have to decide is if we are going to do it ourselves or to hire someone to do it. That’s the first move we have to make,” Poitevint said.
Commissioner David also said Tuesday that a work session would be appropriate. “We need to keep this thing going,” David said.
Commissioner Ball said it is not only important to decide who would conduct the search, but “when” it will begin.
The board scheduled a work session for Thursday, Nov. 15, at 5 p.m. to discuss the administrator search.