NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) – New Hanover County is looking to hire someone for a newly-created sand manager job, but some county commissioners want a little more input into the hiring process.
At a meeting between the Board of Commissioners and town council members in Kure Beach and Carolina Beach, Commission Chairman Ted Davis said he would like an update for the board before anyone is hired.
When asked why the interest in a management decision, Davis said he received criticism for the recent announcement of the county's first public affairs manager and its $98,500 compensation package. Carey Ricks, who served as the Chief Communications Officer for the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority since 2008, will start that new job July 30.
"Nothing against Carey personally," said Ted Davis. "I just think that in the future on different positions like this, the commissioners might want to be a little more involved in knowing what's going on before the fact."
Commissioner Rick Catlin agreed that commissioners should be included in the sand manager process, but that's the only case that warrants commissioner input. He said the job will affect the beach towns, but the final decision is up to the county manager.
County Manager Chris Coudriet said there will be plenty of communication for the sand manager position, because it's practically unprecedented in southeast North Carolina.
"There's a similar one in Carteret County, but even that is different than what we're going to do with ours," said Chris Coudriet.
Whatever comes of the sand manager position, commissioner Jason Thompson said the decision falls on the manager and only the manager.
"We don't want to get into micro-managing," said Jason Thompson. "That's not our job as a policy-making board."
The county is working with the Ports, Waterways and Beach Commission on the job description and expectations of a sand manager.
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