Staff Photo by Adam Crisp/Chattanooga Times Free Press
New Whitfield County, Ga., Administrator Mark Gibson shakes hands with Whitfield County Emergency Management Director Claude Craig, center, as Whitfield Fire Chief Carl Collins waits. Gibson was formerly the Varnell city manager.DALTON, Ga. -- Whitfield County has a new top administrator and his name is a familiar one.
Varnell City Manager Mark Gibson will take the reins at the county offices within the next 30 days. The Whitfield native has been a Dalton city police officer, a court administrator and a city manager in Alma, Ga., a small South Georgia town, before his most recent work in North Georgia.
County leaders say they preferred Gibson, 36, because he was the local candidate. He knows the area, already has contacts in the county and was qualified for the job, they said.
Gibson holds a master's degree in public administration from Columbus State University.
"Not only is he from our home, he's got experience as a city manager and he has the education," County Commission Chairman Mike Babb said.
DOCUMENT DOWNLOADSPDF: Gibson's contract and job description.
He said Gibson's work with two small towns familiarizes him with working with small budgets. Whitfield has struggled over the last two budget years as it tried to shore up declining tax revenue with increasing expenses.
"To say that the county administrator's going to solve our budget problems, however, is putting too much responsibility on the county administrator," Babb said. "It's going to be the county commissioners that you elect plus the county administrator plus the department heads plus the constitutional officers who are elected, to address the budget."
Gibson echoed that sentiment.
ABOUT MARK GIBSONAge: 36Education: Bachelor's degree, justice studies, Georgia Southern University; Master's degree, public administration, Columbus State UniversityFamily: Wife, Cindy, and four childrenPay: $95,000
"The commissioners and I will work as a team and do our best ... to cure our budget problems," he said minutes after a unanimous vote by the commission. "Every community has a different recipe for success, and so every community has a different need for a specific type of leader. In our county, I fit that recipe."
Gibson said he must give Varnell 30 days' notice before he can start at the county. He has been with Varnell since 2008 and served in Alma for eight months.
He is a 1992 graduate of Northwest Whitfield High School and earned a bachelor's degree in justice studies at Georgia Southern University. He then worked seven years as an officer with the Dalton Police Department before becoming assistant city court administrator in Whitfield County.
Contact staff writer Adam Crisp at acrisp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6323.