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"Fresh out of college, those of us trained in this profession aspire to work for big towns, but I gravitated to the smaller towns, the more rural areas because typically they need more help, are willing to accept help and provide an opportunity to make friends and to become part of the community," he said.
A native of Greer, Westmoreland was chosen for his new position over more than 40 other applicants. A search committee narrowed the field to three, all of whom were invited to visit Jackson County for mid-June interviews.
One candidate, Christopher Raths of Auburn, Mass., accepted a position in Kentucky and did not sit for an interview here. Another, Hal Mason of Shelby, withdrew from the race when he learned he would not have unanimous support from the five-member commission.
The vote to hire Westmoreland was, likewise, not 100 percent in favor of the South Carolinian. In casting his "no" vote, board Chairman Jay Denton, who was named to serve as county manager in December 1998 and held the position through June 30, said he was against the new form of government more than the individual.
"To this day I still believe that the elected chairman-manager position is a superior form of government for the people of Jackson County," Denton said last month.
Voting with Denton was Commissioner Franz Whitmire of Glenville. Affirmative votes by Commissioners Stacy Buchanan, Roberta Crawford and Conrad Burrell formed the majority and resulted in bringing Jackson in line with North Carolina's other 99 county governments.
"I would have preferred to have as much support as possible," Westmoreland said of the board's split vote. "But since then both Mr. Denton and Mr. Whitmire have pledged their support."
The new county manager said he understands how the former manager must feel at being removed from office.
"He thought he was doing a good job, then the whole system changed out from under him," Westmoreland said of Denton. "I think he's interests lie in the citizens of Jackson County, and that he'll be a dedicated full-time legislator as opposed to administrator."
Westmoreland admitted that in a perfect world, the elected manager form of county government is "a superior system." In this world the politican is there to serve the public and has a better feel for the community's needs.
But it has become harder to find professionals willing to leave the private sector in favor of government work, and hiring a professional administrator has grown in popularity among elected officials who essentially serve as "volunteers," he said.
"My job is to serve them," Westmoreland said of the commissioners. "I'll implement what they want to see happen."
At the same time, he said, "my instructions should be based on a majority of the board. No one member should walk in and ask for something."
In addition, he said, commissioners should not attempt to get involved in the day-to-day operations of county government.
"Under this form of government, the elected officials need to learn to accomplish their goals through the manager," he said. "It has to operate this way to be effective and efficient."
Time, quite possibly years, will be required to effect this move toward professionalism, Westmoreland said. "Most elected officials are more interested in the broad issues anyway," he said, "not the smaller ones."
For example, the board need only know that Jackson County requires a new law enforcement center, not how the water lines will be hooked up to such a facility, he said. Or, on the more immediate issue of cell towers, commissioners should decide restrictions are necessary, not be responsible for defining the restrictions.
"For a period of time this will not be hard and fast," he said. "There will be a lot of gray areas until that information is less needed."
Westmoreland's impression of the board as a whole is that they "are very commitment-minded, very intelligent." And though he might in the future be inclined to like one over the others or think one is smarter than another, professionalism on his part requires that individually each board member be treated the same, he said.
The new manager also shared some impressions he had after sitting through his first meeting of the board July 19.
"I thought the informal session was very informative," he said of the work session with the planning board. "I though the planning board was speaking freely, and I though the (commissioners) gave them plenty of guidance."
The issue at hand involved the commission's consideration of a moratorium on cell tower construction and the planning board's role during such a suspension of activity. (See related story page 1A.) Both boards, Westmoreland suggested "might want to look longer and harder at the technology of cell towers. They might need to come down in the future."
As for a board's decision to implement moratoriums, Westmoreland said such temporary legislation is "O.K." if they do not last too long. In this case, a moratorium would serve to balance the needs of the public and the wireless industry with the needs of the county in the areas of ascetics and environmentally issues, he said.
Jackson County is the midst of a lot of changes, and that change is not likely to stop, Westmoreland said. Though county leaders may have so far dealt with change by piecemealing legislation, a "comprehensive plan will take a long time, cover a lot of ground and touch a lot of people. We may still need to piecemeal some of the bigger issues, which can be modified in the future to fit in with the plan."
Westmoreland said he's encouraged with the county's Smart Growth initiative and its method of gauging the attitutes and opinions of the citizens before moving foward with a comprehensive plan.
"'Smart Growth' has a broad meaning," he said "How do you continue to grow and manage growth?"
Westmoreland admits he does not have all the answers, but that serving as Greer city administrator from 1990 through 1999 taught him some valuable lessons.
"Greer was a poverty area," he said of his hometown. "When I went to Greer, (the city council) wanted growth and revitalization. We were too successful."
The town's population doubled from 10,000 to 20,000 in the decade he served as city administration. The city government was constantly struggling to keep ahead of that growth, and as a result Greer lost its unique character, a fact that Westmoreland said still saddens him.
"There's nothing distinct there. There are a lot of good-paying jobs, and the area is far superior in terms of livability and opportunity," he said. "But in terms of views, it's lost a lot."
Should growth and jobs be a priority for Jackson County's commissioners, then Westmoreland said he'll make preserving the area's quality of life and character his priority.
Jackson County already has many of the necessary elements in place for recruiting jobs. These include a good quality of life, transportation, an educated workforce through superior schools, and an anti-Union sentiment. Jackson County needs industries and businesses that can feed off these ingredients and do not need to be located in urban areas to be successful, he said.
"There's something that will fit Jackson County," he said. "This might be a place to get professional training."
Government incentatives should not go to extremes when job recruitment is being considered, Westmoreland said. And, in fact, incentatives are usually way down on the list of those companies considering a move, he said.
Having worked at both the county (he served as Spartanburg, S.C., county manager from 1980 until 1990) and city levels of government, Westmoreland said each has services it can provide best.
"The county has broader issues than the towns, a broader scope," he said. The job of the county is to work with cities and towns and help them do the things they want to do, he said.
"The whole business of government is meeting the needs of the citizens and finding the best way to do that," he said.
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