After more than three years in the position, Habersham County Manager Alicia Vaughn is set to serve her last day on Dec. 27.
The announcement of Vaughn’s departure came in September after a meeting in executive session between her and commissioners, though details of what might’ve led to the decision haven’t been disclosed by county officials publicly.
Habersham County Finance Manager Tim Sims will serve as interim county manager until Vaughn’s permanent replacement is named.
Vaughn spoke with Now Habersham last Thursday and reflected on her time, memories and accomplishments in office.
Accomplishments
Vaughn was hired as county manager in July of 2021 – first appointed as interim county manager following the resignation of Phil Sutton. Commissioners appointed Vaughn as Sutton’s permanent replacement six months later.
Vaughn came to Habersham from Catoosa County, where she’d previously served as county manager for around four years. Before that, much of the foundation for Vaughn’s knowledge in government was developed as a chief financial officer in Whitfield County for about seven years.
Under Vaughn’s leadership, Habersham County has seen expansion of operations and personnel to fill vital roles across departments, in hopes of preparing the county for years of growth ahead.
Today, Habersham has more than 500 employees – from public safety to IT to roads and maintenance.
Among her top accomplishments, Vaughn said she’s proud Habersham was able to maintain residents’ accessibility to health care through Northeast Georgia Health System’s acquisition of Habersham Medical Center (now Northeast Georgia Medical Center Habersham). Vaughn, as county manager, played a critical role in guiding that transition.
“It’s very important – for obvious reasons – to have a hospital here in the community,” Vaughn said. “I feel like that has stabilized the hospital. From an economic development standpoint, and just a quality of life standpoint, I think it’s really important to have access to good medical care and having that emergency room there.”
Habersham’s new public safety radio system, Vaughn said, has been another benefit to the county during her time in office. Without that, Habersham County would not have the radio coverage (from 65% to 95% now) it does today.
“We’ve really set that system up to be a regional system,” Vaughn said. “Franklin County has recently agreed to join the system, and I think that’s a huge success, so I’m really proud of that.”
A primary focus for Vaughn, she said, also has been employee attraction and retention – something that has become more challenging for counties and municipalities across the state and the U.S. in recent years.
What will you miss most?
After leaving office Friday, Vaughn said she will miss “the people” the most – from employees to members of the community.
“It’s an amazing community,” she said. “My directors are incredible. I’ve been very blessed to lead them. Everything we’ve done has been a team effort.”
Vaughn added: “One of the things I would wish for is the community to understand – I think a lot of times government gets a bad rap, and people automatically assume that person is not hard working and not dedicated. And the opposite is true about Habersham County.”
Advice for a future manager
Asked what advice she’d give to Habersham County’s future manager, Vaughn said to remember to be thankful for the small things, particularly the small victories.
“Government does move at a slow pace,” Vaughn said. “Collaboration and communication is infinitely important. I think being patient, being satisfied sometimes with baby steps, not getting frustrated if it’s not moving as fast as you’d like it to…and just remembering, these positions report to a five-member board to make policy. It’s just – being happy with the small wins and remembering to listen to the community.”
Above all, with a disproportionately residential tax base, amid impending growth, Vaughn stressed a need for attention to growth and development efforts in the years ahead. This, she said, will allow for smart/measured – as opposed to out of control, unplanned – growth.
“We need to continue to try and diversify the tax digest – I think that’s going to be very, very important,” Vaughn said. “As we grow, we also need to remember to take care of our employees, especially in the area of public safety…supporting all the directors in that area is going to be very important.”
Vaughn also emphasized the need to take a closer look at drafting a unified development code and to reexamine aspects of planning and zoning.
With “extra levels of complexities” such as an airport, future development and seven separate cities, Vaughn said future funding toward an assistant county manager to support the county manager with day-to-day operations would be “money well spent.”
Heading home
Vaughn, who’s married with two children, had moved to a cottage home on Washington Street in Clarkesville just over two years ago. On Thursday, she said she’d recently sold that home and had plans to head back to Whitfield County – where her family lives – on Friday.
Vaughn and her husband’s eldest daughter, Gracen, 26, is a UGA graduate who now works as a special events and catering manager in West Palm Beach.
Their other daughter, Gillan, 22, is now a senior at UGA and recently entered the master’s program at Augusta University, where she’ll pursue a degree in nursing.
Vaughn said she’s unsure of what could come next for her career, though she said she’ll likely remain in local government or possibly work as a consultant to local governments down the road.
On a final note, Vaughn said she’s grateful for Habersham’s Board of Commissioners and for the years she’s had in Habersham. “It’s an amazing community,” she said.
Habersham County Commission Chairman Ty Akins said on Tuesday, Dec. 24, that Vaughn “has made a lasting impression on the county” and on the way it’s delivered service.
“At a time when the county saw the most growth in the last 30-40 years, there were quite a few challenges,” Akins said. “Increased demand on services made some cracks and weaknesses appear that she addressed head on. She was never afraid to tackle any issue when it might have been easier to not make eye contact with it.”
He added: “She also put a lot of emphasis on leadership development and succession planning. These are things that any large organization would do to be successful. Habersham county is one of the largest counties in Northeast Ga and she helped get us pointed in the right direction to address the demands of a rising population. I’m sure she will do well wherever she lands and we wish her the best.”
