Former Surry County Manager Macon Sammons could be a candidate for Mount Airy city manager, based on comments by Sammons after a public meeting Monday when city officials received guidance on filling that vacancy.

“I haven’t applied,” Sammons said while leaving a conference room at the Municipal Building where the mayor and city commissioners had met with human-resources representatives of the North Carolina League of Municipalities.

When asked if he intended to seek the position, Sammons replied, “I’ll just say it’s an open possibility.” Sammons, who served as Surry County’s manager from 2004 to 2008, sat with other citizens in the audience Monday as officials discussed the manager vacancy.

He also had attended a yearly planning retreat of Mount Airy leaders in late February.

Long Process Ahead?

Earlier Monday, Hartwell Wright, human resources consultant with the North Carolina League of Municipalities, had advised Mount Airy leaders to take their time in seeking a replacement for City Manager Don Brookshire.

“It usually takes about six months, from the beginning to the end, for this process,” said the visitor from the Raleigh-based nonpartisan federation of cities, towns and villages in North Carolina which promotes excellence in municipal government.

“Take as long as you need to get the right person,” Wright said of the process, adding that the important thing is to “keep it moving.”

The League of Municipalities consultant, who has many years’ experience in the personnel field, said that hiring the manager likely will be the foremost action Mount Airy’s commissioners take this year. That includes adopting the annual municipal budget and other actions, said Wright, who was asked to provide expertise to guide city officials in the city manager search.

“This is going to be the most important thing this board will do,” Wright added, “short of a major catastrophe striking this town.”

He said the upcoming hiring “is going to affect every person in Mount Airy. The manager will be your ambassador to the citizens.”

Since Brookshire resigned in January after nearly eight years on the job, Barbara Jones — assistant city manager and clerk — has been filling the position on an interim basis. Mount Airy now is advertising the vacancy regionally, with March 31 the application deadline.

In addition to the time factor, Mount Airy officials should be prepared to provide something that has been controversial here in the past: a contract with the manager. Brookshire worked under a contract containing what critics have described as a “golden parachute” provision that specified Brookshire receive a year’s salary and other considerations if he were dismissed without leave.

Wright told city leaders Monday that contracts have become a way of life for municipal managers, who want some protection from being dismissed for political and other reasons having no relationship to their job performance. “I doubt very seriously that you will hire a city manager who doesn’t ask for a contract,” he said.

“I love you to death,” Wright told the commissioners, also praising the beauty of Mount Airy. “But I wouldn’t come here without a contract.” The annual salary range for city managers in municipalities the size of Mount Airy is around $100,000, according to the consultant.

Wright also suggested that a profile be developed of what Mount Airy desires in its city manager, using input from the public, which then can be used as a tool to narrow down applicants to be interviewed.

Another strong recommendation he offered is having a professional firm conduct a background check aimed at illuminating a finalist’s criminal and driving record, credit history and other aspects of his or her past.

“Do your homework well in that regard,” said Wright, who told Mount Airy leaders that they don’t want to hire someone, then learn two months later that the person is wanted for tax evasion or possesses similar baggage.

“You need to make sure you do it the way it is supposed to be done,” Wright said in advocating that a professional firm handle the background-investigation portion of the hiring procedure.

Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.