By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer

Joshua Ray keeps a special water service tool in his truck.

As manager for the small town of Biscoe, and part-time manager for Camden and Candor, he sometimes found himself turning water on – or off – for customers of the municipal water service.

While he said Thursday he doesn’t expect to have to be so hands-on in his new job as Whiteville’s manager, he said he is always prepared to lend a hand (or a water-tool).

“I like to get things done,” he said. “I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty if that’s what the job entails.”

Ray began work Thursday, and said he plans to spend the next month getting to know his staff and the city.

“From everything I’ve seen so far,” he said, “this is a top-notch organization. There’s a good operation here, and I only want it to improve for the citizens of Whiteville.”

His wife Kelly and stepson Dylan arrived Thursday. The family will be staying at a rental home at Lake Waccamaw until they find a home to purchase.

The Whiteville City Council gave him permission to live in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, he said, but Ray said he needs to live in the city limits.

“We found a nice place on the outskirts of Whiteville,” he said, “but I need to be here. If I’m going to benefit from the taxpayers, I should be a taxpayer, too. I think city employees should set an example.”

Ray said he will work closely with department heads, and plans to meet every member of the town’s staff in the coming days.

“The documents say this is a professional group,” he said, “and I want to complement that.”

The new manager helped implement a development program for Biscoe, Camden and Candor that has helped turn those towns into destinations for travelers to and from neighboring cities.

He said Whiteville’s downtown needs a similar program.

“Everyone wants the beach traffic,” he said, “and the more I see of our downtown, the more I see we can benefit from that. Tourism and travelers can’t do it all, but they can be a big part of helping Whiteville grow.”

Ray said that although the city is “locked in on some wastewater” agreements, he hopes to use that to Whiteville’s advantage.

“The state is leaning more and more toward regional treatment plants,” he said. “That’s going to be a challenge for Whiteville. Other communities will naturally turn to Whiteville for help, and we need to be ready to help them and protect the city’s interests, too. That’s how I think it should be.”

Ray also said he doesn’t look for quick fixes to problems.

“I don’t look at cheap – I look at less expensive,” he said. “We have to be good stewards of the taxpayer’s money. Sometimes the cheapest route is the worst.”

The manager said he wants to spend time talking with citizens.

“I hope to get out and talk to people,” he said. “I think that’s the best way to discover what they see for the city’s future, and what their concerns are right now. I’d love to have a series of meetings where the mayor, the council and myself could go out in the community and let them know what’s happening.”

Ray also said he thinks he can help Whiteville meet its potential.

“The city has so much going for it,” he said. “We have resources, a good downtown, a recreation system, good schools, a strong municipal staff. There’s the wastewater plant expansion that will make us more attractive to industry.

“Whiteville can handle a lot of success,” he said. “I’m ready to get going.”

Ray makes $72,000 per year. He replaces Doug Palmer, the city’s finance officer who served as interim manager after Susan Rhodes left the post last spring.