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should live
in the county
The county commissioners waived its long-standing unwritten policy of having its top administrators live in Columbus County when it hired Jim Varner full-time as county manager Friday. Varner lives at Sunset Beach and commutes to work.
We believe that for the county manager to be fully effective, he or she must live in the community in order to understand and appreciate it.
Before, the unwritten policy was that a top administrator had six months to move to the county. That gave him or her time to reflect on whether the job was a good fit, or perhaps time to sell a home or have children finish school in the administrator’s former community.
Varner was named interim manager after Billy Joe Farmer left. Now, Varner is full-time with a contract that can be renewed annually.
It can be said that it shouldn’t matter if the county manager lives in the community because he or she acts at the pleasure of the board and serves only as a hired administrator. But we know that’s not the case.
The county manager in most counties has considerable influence on policy matters. Issues are different from county to county. It’s safe to say that the citizenry of Brunswick County, where Varner was once manager, is vastly different from Columbus County. The same could be said if Columbus County hired a manager who lives in New Hanover County or even Robeson County.
Personal accountability, however, is the primary reason why the county manager, or any top administrator, should live in the county where he or she works. It’s one thing when a top administrator can simply drive away from his or her work place and leave it all behind. When an administrator lives in the community, personal accountability is thrust upon them – accountability that Columbus residents should expect.
We believe Columbus County residents want a manager who is “one of us” – someone whose decisions affect his or her family or his or her pocketbook just as much as they affect everyone else in Columbus County.