Whitfield County Administrator Bob McLeod is leaving his job at the end of 2010 after three years at the helm of county government.
The split was voluntary and comes at the end of his contract. But there are hints that McLeod was frustrated that county commissioners didn’t make deep budget cuts as the economy sank and revenue began to go south.
“I’ve made all the recommendations to the commissioners to help them solve their future budget problems,” McLeod said. “So I’m going to leave the seed and give another person the opportunity to help the commissioners.”
To make ends meet in 2010, Whitfield is expected to use about $8 million left over from a 1-cent special local option sales tax passed in 2001.
McLeo recommended cost-saving measures, such as requiring workers to take unpaid furloughs.
But commissioners balked, and this year they may have to make those cuts, said District 3 Commissioner Randy Waskul, whose term also expires at the end of the year.
“Bob brought us an incredible amount of experience and knowledge,” Waskul said. “But commissioners made decisions based on the community and what the feeling was in the industry leadership there.”
Commissioners essentially had hoped the economy would revive before the SPLOST money ran out, said Waskul, who was elected four years ago.
“When I came into office, it was the best of times, and now that I’m leaving, it’s the worst of times,” he said. “No one could have predicted it would have taken this long to recover.”
Three new commissioners join the commission in January as McLeod’s contract ends. Commissioners are working on a job description for the next administrator.
In his book of accomplishments, McLeod lists $48 million in road upgrades funded by a 1-cent sales tax passed in 2007 for transportation. He said the county also has made headway in economic development and tourism in his three-year tenure.
McLeod says he’s not sure what’s next for his career. He came to Whitfield County after working in county government in Delaware. He said he and his wife chose to live in Dalton after vacationing in the Appalachian foothills for roughly 15 years.
“I’m looking at all the possibilities,” McLeod said. “We really like it here. We love to the closeness to Chattanooga and all that the farmland we live on has to offer.”
Contact Adam Crisp at acrisp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6323.