Pikeville might bring charges, so town officials want to wait.
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on August 9, 2007 1:45 PM
PIKEVILLE -- About 20 people have put in their application to be Pikeville's next town manager, officials announced this week.
But the decision on who will actually hold the job might not come until after November's general election, Mayor Herbert Sieger said.
The position -- and its next occupant -- were part of the discussion at the regular meeting of the Pikeville Board of Commissioners Monday.
The proposed delay is just in case the board sees major changes after the fall vote. Three Pikeville commission seats are up for grabs in November, with six candidates vying for the spots. Four candidates are not incumbents.
"I wouldn't want to start off the new year in September and have the board decide (a new administrator is) ... not what we'd like," Sieger said.
Former Pikeville Town Manager Bob Buchanan left in May for El Salvador because of illness in his wife's family, Sieger said.
Buchanan had replaced previous clerk Lonnie Graves. Town Clerk Kathie Fields has served as interim town manager since Buchanan's departure.
Now, the town will choose five finalists from its applicant pool.
"We're looking for somebody preferably with a master's degree in public administration, or equivalent experience," the mayor said.
If an applicant has enough government experience, the town might overlook the lack of a public administration degree -- as long as he or she has a degree of some sort, Sieger said.
"It could be in business or it could be in anything -- if they've had enough experience," he said.
Sieger added that administrator applications have come from "all over," with applicants from as far north as Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. The board used a job posting service provided by a letter sent out by the N.C. League of Municipalities.
The job was also posted on the town's Internet site, and a few applicants reported seeing it there, he said.
Incumbent commissioners Albert Greene and Bruce Thomas defend their seats against challengers Todd S. Anderson, Vance Greeson, Dennis K. Lewis and Talmage "Thigie" Thigpen in the November election.
Commissioner Johnnie Weaver Jr., whose term also ended in 2007, is not on the ballot, according to online listings managed by the Wayne County Board of Elections.