Aycock to act as acting county chief
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 18, 2013 1:46 PM
Wayne County Commission Chairman Wayne Aycock will act as county manager over the next two weeks during the absence of County Manager Lee Smith.
Smith said this week he is planning to have elective surgery done over the holidays and expects to be back at work by Jan. 6.
The appointment came after a closed session that lasted more than two hours. Commissioners said they met in private under the attorney-client privilege clause in the state Open Meetings Law.
Commissioner Steve Keen made the motion for Aycock to take over as acting county manager. There was no discussion, and the motion was unanimously approved.
"Lee has asked for some time off, a couple of weeks, and Wayne County does not have an assistant county manager," Aycock said. "So somebody has to be in a position to sign papers and all. That is what my goal is going to be until he gets back."
Aycock said he would not be in Smith's office handling the county's day-to-day operations.
"Any big decisions that come up, until Lee comes back, I will just have to call a special meeting and it will be a board action," he said. "County business is going to go on. The supervisors, the department heads, will go on with business as usual."