Bedford County administrator resigns; chairman calls ouster "unprofessional"

A month shy of her seven-year anniversary as Bedford County Administrator, Kathleen Guzi tendered her resignation Monday following a closed meeting of the board of supervisors.

Guzi, a 25-year veteran of the county's government, read a statement after the board came out of the half hour closed session that she did not attend.

“After talking with a couple of board members over the last week, I have decided to resign as County Administrator effective Feb. 16,” she said. “I appreciate the opportunity to have served the board of supervisors and the citizens of Bedford County…and wish the board well as they deal with issues that face the county. I particularly want to thank the county staff for their friendship and hard work.”

The board voted 6-1 — with Chairman Chuck Neudorfer opposing — to accept her resignation. Supervisors voted unanimously to appoint Assistant Administrator Frank Rogers as the interim administrator.

Guzi, appointed in March 2005, immediately left the meeting with her husband and son when it adjourned. She did not comment about the reasons behind her departure.

Supervisors did not disclose specific reasons for her exit but Neudorfer stressed after the meeting there was no legal, moral or ethical doings on her part that led to it.

He was not pleased with the outcome and voiced so.

“I have to comment that I think this has been the most unprofessional process that I believe I have ever been involved in,” Neudorfer said. Then he thanked Guzi for 25 years of “dedication, hard work and commitment.”

“I just believe we’re ready for a change,” Supervisor Steve Arrington said afterward. “I think she was a hard worker.”

Arrington spoke during the meeting about the “tough decision” that maneuvered Guzi out of a job but did not explain why it was reached.

“It is just like any relationship between any employee and their employer,” he said after assuring the roughly two dozen who came to the meeting there was no secrecy in the decision. “When these things happen, they are confidential.”

Supervisors Roger Cheek, Annie Pollard, John Sharp, Arrington and newly elected members Tammy Parker and Bill Thomasson voted in favor of her resignation. Cheek said he opposed the decision but did not want to stand in the way of her severance.

“To me, she’s done a great job,” said Cheek, who has worked with Guzi longer than the other supervisors, adding he was disappointed in the decision.

“I’m sick with the vote tonight.”

Pollard, who along with Thomasson called for the special meeting Monday, said Guzi has been “an asset to the county in many ways.

“But sometimes you just need to change to move forward,” she said. “That’s my feeling.”

Arrington publicly stated he received some negative comments leading up to Monday’s meeting and he wanted to dispel “false assumptions, myths and untruths” some have raised.

“It’s not a personal issue,” Arrington said of Guzi’s departure. “I receive no pleasure in what has been done here tonight.”

Guzi, 51, began her career with Bedford County in 1986 as an administrative assistant for budget under then-administrator Cecil Knowles. She was promoted to finance director a year later. A native of New Jersey, she served previously as interim administrator and deputy administrator. Her salary is about $116,000.

She took over the position a few months of after Bill Rolfe, her predecessor, left for a job in Orange County.

Arrington, a staunch conservative Republican, said during the meeting he believes Bedford County voters in the most recent election gave a mandate “for statesmen and not politicians” in local government.

“I think we can all agree that we’re at a crossroads, not only in Bedford County, but in our state and in our nation,” he said.

Residents would have to make the determination if Monday’s change in the county’s top position is “leadership or lack thereof,” he said.

Addressing fellow supervisors he did not name, Arrington said there was no attempt to “form a coalition” among board members and stressed to residents there were no “hidden agendas” in Guzi’s removal.

“It is an emotional issue,” said Arrington. “As we leave this meeting, we’ll either be more divided or more united…I will tell you clearly that I make no apologies for the decision I made tonight.”

According to a severance package the board approved, Guzi will receive $98,527.76, which includes eight months salary, accrued sick leave and accumulated annual leave. The county will pay her $933.97 a month, plus any changes as of July 1, as a share of health insurance premiums for a year or until she finds employment that provides health benefits.