After two job announcements and nearly six months, the Habersham County Commission appears to be getting closer to filling the county manager’s seat vacated by Alicia Vaughn in December. Vaughn announced her resignation last September.
Commissioner Bruce Harkness says around 60 people applied for the job. “They ranged everywhere from an 18-year-old fresh out of high school with no experience all the way to a retired general from the military,” he says.
The commissioners interviewed four potential candidates. The interviews were completed at a called meeting on March 5 during an extended closed session. The commission took no action at that meeting.
According to County Attorney Donnie Hunt, each candidate had a different background and experience. He added that the four candidates interviewed were all qualified for the position.
The county is not releasing the names of the finalists at this time. According to state law, the commission is required to release the names only when the number of finalists is down to three or fewer.
Decision time
Hunt says the commission has the option to interview more applicants, but several commissioners say they’re ready to fill the position.
“We were presented with four qualified individuals and I’m prepared to make a decision on who I think will serve us best,” says Mealor. “It wasn’t an easy decision because there were three in my mind of the four that were all good picks.”
“I thought we had narrowed down to a good group of candidates and I feel confident we can make the decision from one of those four,” adds Akins.
Harkness agrees that the four candidates interviewed are “very qualified.”
“Now we are trying to pick the most qualified applicant for our particular county, our staff, our taxpayers, and our wonderful community at large,” he says.
Called meeting
Next week, the commission could decide who to appoint as the next county manager.
On Tuesday, March 25, the commission will hold a closed-door meeting to discuss personnel. They could then take action to appoint the next county manager.
The meeting will be held at 4 p.m. in the Jury Assembly Room in the Habersham County Courthouse, 295 Llewellyn Street in Clarkesville.
