Search for new manager progresses in Jackson
The interview process will soon begin in the search to replace Chuck Wooten, who will retire from his position as Jackson County manager on July 1. County commissioners are feeling good about the pool of applicants vying for the post.
“It was a really good mix, a very diverse group of people and lots of different backgrounds,” said Commission Chairman Brian McMahan. “I was very pleased. We had a very strong pool to pull from.”
In all, 27 people applied for the job. Some were from Western North Carolina, some were from elsewhere in the state, others were from out of state; some held jobs in county government, others worked in municipal government, McMahan said.
In a closed session last week, commissioners ranked the applicants and selected the top four to invite for interviews this month.
According to Commissioner Boyce Deitz, it seemed that most of those top-tier applicants had some tie to Jackson County, whether by graduating from Western Carolina University or having otherwise lived in Jackson at some point in their lives.
“Most of the ones we looked close at understand this area, and I think that’s going to be important,” Deitz said.
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That’s a quality that’s certainly true of Wooten, who has served as county manager since 2010, when he took the job on an interim basis before making it a permanent gig. He came to county government after a career at Western Carolina University and grew up in Jackson County. His understanding of the county and its people has proven valuable to the various boards of commissioners he’s served since coming on board. Deitz said he wouldn’t necessarily exclude anyone from consideration because they haven’t lived in Jackson County before, but said the winning candidate must be “a good fit.”
“We need to find someone we feel could be a fit for Jackson County, our people, our culture,” Deitz said.
When Wooten first announced his retirement in January, there was some uncertainty as to whether a quality replacement could be found in time for Wooten’s July 1 retirement date, or whether an interim manager would be needed. The question still isn’t settled, but McMahan said he’s hopeful that the county’s next manager is somewhere in the stack of applications received. Assuming that’s true, commissioners could make a job offer by the end of May, leaving one month for the new person to tie things up in their existing position and get to Jackson. That may or may not be enough time.
“It depends on who the candidate ends up being, what their work commitment is currently,” McMahan said. “We want people to do the right thing.”
Wooten’s isn’t the only high-level position the county is looking to fill. Health Department Director Paula Carden and Department of Human Resources Director Bob Cochran will also retire this year.
