County manager position to be discussed Friday

Denton says he will not remain past June 30

By Lisa Majors-Duff

Denton

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the county manager position and "any other business that may arise," Denton said.

Sources indicate that Ken Westmoreland of Greer, S.C., is the only candidate being considered for the county manager position. If offered the job, Westmoreland has reportedly said he could start in 30 days, making his first day sometime in August.

"I've finished with a demanding yet rewarding position within county government," Denton said of his 2 1/2 years as county manager. "I'm glad to have served as the last elected county manager."

"I don't know how that conversation will go," Commissioner Stacy Buchanan said Monday. "That's something I'm sure the board will have to discuss. I thought it might come up at our last meeting, but it didn't."

Buchanan said a gap between managers should not cause a problem for county government operations.

"I think in that short a period of time we could operate without one," Buchanan said. "July is always our slowest month anyway. It's always cut and dry as far as our meetings are concerned." "We haven't really discussed it," Commissioner Conrad Burrell said. "(Denton) did tell us he'd stay, and I'm assuming he will stay.

"If he doesn't, we'll have to look into getting someone to fill in or let the heads of the departments take care of it. We can call a meeting and help them with whatever comes up," Burrell said.

"I hope Jay will stay as long as he will," Commissioners Franz Whitmire said Tuesday. "In fact, I hope he'll stay until the end of my term. I don't know if (hiring another manager) will come to fruition anytime soon anyway."

Commissioner Roberta Crawford could not be reached for comment prior to press time. In naming a professional county manager, Jackson County will join North Carolina's other 99 counties by officially installing a new form of government. The current form of government allows for the elected chairman of the board to also serve as county manager.

That dual role has been fulfilled by Denton since he was elected chairman in November 1998. According to the December resolution that changed Jackson County's form of government, Denton agreed to remain county manager until June 30.

Westmoreland, who sources say may be offered the job of Jackson County manager in the coming days, has served as president of the Greater Greer Development Corp. since January. Prior to that he was employed as Spartanburg County administrator from 1980 until 1990 and Greer city administrator from 1990 until taking the development job in January.

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