BEDFORD — After five months of looking, Bedford County is putting its search for a new director of community development on hold for now.
County Administrator Kathleen Guzi notified the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday through a memorandum that the position will remain unfilled.
Guzi said she did not give a date in the memo for when the process to hire a new director would resume.
George Nester, the former director who was hired in June 2006, left the post in late April to become Halifax County’s administrator.
“Since this is key, we want to take our time to make sure we get the right fit,” Guzi said of the search. “It’s all about timing.”
The suspended search is not due to a slowdown in growth the county has seen in recent years, Guzi said. Officials have attributed the decline to the economy.
Known as one of the fastest-growing localities in Virginia in recent decades, Bedford County has experienced a significant drop in residential development over the past few years. Guzi said “smaller commercial developments” in Forest and Smith Mountain Lake are still happening but it will take a while for residential growth to pick back up.
County officials have noticed a decline in revenue from permits and a drop in sales and meals taxes. There also hasn’t been a land rezoning review so far in 2009.
The position oversees four divisions essential to development: building inspections, planning and zoning, erosion and sediment and geographical information systems. It has an annual salary range from just more than $61,000 to nearly $95,000, Guzi said.
The county interviewed seven applicants in recent months but did not find the best candidate, she said.
Though the county has a hiring freeze in place, Guzi said the position was exempt because of its importance.
The four division heads within the department of community development continue to meet with Guzi on a regular basis.
“In terms of day-to-day operations, things are continuing to move along,” she said.
Planners are reviewing extensive ongoing changes to the county’s 11-year-old zoning ordinance and nine-year-old subdivision ordinance. Guzi said the department also is continuing its work on a review method that would allow building and zoning permits to be handled online, which she said would streamline the process.
Guzi said the county would wait a while before advertising again for applicants.
“The right person is out there,” she said. “Technically, there are a lot of people who can do it but it’s getting that best fit for Bedford County. That’s the challenge.”
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