Single candidate remains for Amherst County administrator position

After holding discussions during the past week with a handful of applicants, the Amherst County Board of Supervisors has narrowed its sights for a new county administrator down to a single candidate.

The board has yet to hire the candidate or reveal the person’s identity since a decision has not yet been made and because it’s a personnel-related matter, Chairman Leon Parrish said.

Supervisors voted Monday after meeting for several hours in closed session to move forward with a background check of the candidate. The board then took another vote to issue a news release for media outlets about the person when a final decision is made.

Parrish declined to give a date for when the hire will take place.

“It’s in the very near future, we hope,” Parrish said after Monday’s meeting, referring to the hire. “It could be as early as our next board meeting.”

The supervisors have scheduled a 9 a.m. session Monday and, according to the agenda, will have a closed session to discuss the hiring of a new county administrator. The meeting is set for the county administration office at 153 Washington St. in Amherst.

The selection process started in late April when Rodney Taylor, the former administrator, resigned following conflicts with board members. According to state code, county administrators work at the pleasure of the governing Board of Supervisors.

The county received roughly 30 responses from potential applicants, and the board soon after appointed a committee to help with its selection.

Last week, supervisors spent a full workday interviewing five candidates during closed meetings. The meeting was adjourned until Monday, when Parrish said the board had “casual conversations” with two of the candidates and then held its own discussion in closed session.

Parrish said there is a sense of urgency about filling the position, and he is satisfied with the experience level of the single candidate. He said the hire should get the county “back to doing work that is constructive and moving forward.”

“When a position is open like that, you’re putting double work on someone else,” Parrish said. “You don’t get the full benefit … .

“I want to see us get back into the regular stride of doing things that enhances the quality of life for Amherst County citizens.”

The county is set to pay a salary of $90,000 for the administrator’s post in the current 2009-10 budget.