County not quite ready to say farewell to top administrator

County Commission Chairwoman Priscilla Whisenant Trace indicated Tuesday she wants to extend County Administrator Ed Hunzeker’s contract by yet another year so that the search for his replacement would not interfere with elections.

After voting to not renew Hunzeker’s contract, commissioners initially voted to start a national search in December 2016. They had narrowed down their list of finalists to four candidates before voting last September to keep Hunzeker, four months before his contract was to expire. His latest contract was extended to Jan. 29, 2019.

Some commissioners said they weren’t impressed by the selection brought before them by Springstead Waters Executive Recruitment.

Hunzeker, who has held his position since 2006 and made $209,185.60 last year, said he was OK with whatever the commissioners wanted, whether it was retirement or staying on for another two years.

During Tuesday’s commission meeting, Trace suggested that because it was an election year, it would be best to start the search in July 2019 and then have a new administrator by 2020.

This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 4:37 PM with the headline "County not quite ready to say farewell to top administrator."