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GREENSBORO — Guilford County is losing a deputy county attorney and looking at furloughs for county employees in the same week that it announced a layoff affecting 35 jobs.

Deputy County Attorney Mike Newby is leaving the county’s already short-staffed legal office today.

“I’m running away and leaving the circus,” Newby said Thursday morning.

Lately that “circus” has involved the sudden departure in December of the county manager, attorney and deputy manager, a layoff and the potential of unpaid days off for county employees as the Board of Commissioners looks for ways to cut the budget.

Newby, who filled in after former County Attorney Sharron Kurtz resigned suddenly in December, said his departure was not connected to that turnover.

“I have an excellent opportunity in Davidson County to work with an old friend who has become county attorney there,” Newby said Thursday.

Newby’s departure leaves county legal staffing short. Usually two full-time attorneys are in the office.

Once Newby leaves, only David Smith, a part-time interim attorney, will remain to handle responsibilities until Newby’s replacement arrives.

County attorneys advise the Board of Commissioners to ensure it acts within the bounds of the law.

But, Newby said, a county attorney does not police the board.

Otherwise, the attorney handles litigation from district to federal courts, from child support to county contracts.

On other changes, interim County Manager Brenda Jones Fox sent a memo to the commissioners saying that county department heads are being asked to find employees who could be placed on temporary unpaid leave,  a furlough.

The memo, sent Wednesday, comes a day after the county announced layoffs affecting 35 positions in the county.

No final word had been made on the decision as of Thursday afternoon, said Sharisse Fuller, the county’s human resources director.

“I don’t like having to lay off anyone or cut hours,” said Commissioner Linda Shaw, who, like many others in
government and business, blamed hard times on the overall economy.

“We’re having the same problems that every other company is having too,” she said.

Though the layoffs affect 35 jobs, only 32 positions will disappear, said Fuller, who said that three positions would be transferred to other departments.

When governments review positions, they are viewed as line items in spending rather than individuals working a
job.

“It’s a technicality,” Fuller said.

As for the changes in the legal department, Fuller said that six applications have been received in the ongoing search for a new county attorney and that the deputy manager position has been advertised.

And as Newby leaves the office he took in 2006, he praised the staff he worked with.

“And I wish the citizens of Guilford County knew what a good staff they have had here in the past,” he said.

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com