Bulloch County Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a contract with a new county manager.
Christopher D. Eldridge was announced as the sole finalist for the position on Friday, August 29 in what commissioners cited on the county Facebook page as an ‘extensive nationwide search’ conducted by an outside firm – Pracademic Partners. The $26,500 search was announced earlier this year following the departure of longtime county manage Tom Couch.
Since the announcement of Eldridge being the sole finalist, other than what is publicly available online, limited information has been provided on Eldridge to date, with details only limited to his work in the City of Doraville as city manager and as County Administrator of Horry County in South Carolina.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Lawton Sack addressed commissioners about the contract with the new county manager, specifically the lack of public input or information about Eldridge.
“This may be the best hire this county has ever made, we don’t know. We hope so,” Sack said. “But I once again encourage you, you’ve got to involve the people in this process.”
He said he hoped the new county manager has the mindset of listening to the people and involving them in the process.
Chairman David Bennett replied to Sack by saying the county has tried to ‘protect the candidates’ throughout the process because there are not a lot of qualified candidates and some applied while still working elsewhere. He said the county form of government is a representative democracy so ‘the people’ are not always afforded an opportunity to give input in the process. He spoke at length about the process and possible liabilities if information was leaked about candidates who were interviewed, though Sack’s comments were focused on the period between the announcement of the finalist and the formal vote.
County Attorney Jeff Akins offered a few highlights of the contract, including:
- a proposed salary of $225,000 annually
- a raise can be determined on an annual basis following an evaluation
- a $10,000 moving allowance
- the use of a county vehicle for business purposes
- the classification of an employee at-will
- a clause requiring a six-month severance if he is terminated without cause (specific reasons for cause are listed in the contract)
Eldridge’s contract also sets forth 80 hours of annual vacation leave + 80 hours of sick leave and standard health and retirement benefits of other county employees.
A motion was made to approve the contract by Commissioner Ray Mosley, seconded by Ray Davis, and approved unanimously. There was no discussion or commentary by commissioners.
Eldridge’s listed start date is October 6.
