news-record.com

Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones noted one of his strengths at a forum on local government leadership in Greensboro Wednesday: “I’m not afraid to be fired.”

Guilford County Board of Commissioners Chairman Skip Alston isn’t afraid to fire a county manager.

Is one man’s virtue another’s vice?

Jones was part of a panel convened by Action Greensboro that was asked to talk about the relationship between elected officials and professional managers, which is often contentious in Guilford County.

The Mecklenburg executive, in that post since 2000, lauded his county’s record of keeping managers for many years and faulted the opposite experience in Guilford: “You have to question the respect for the profession.”

Alston wasn’t on the panel but was given a chance to respond to the discussion. He took the opportunity to praise his county manager, Brenda Jones Fox, promoted earlier this year after commissioners in December forced out the previous manager, deputy manager and county attorney. “Brenda Jones Fox is the best county manager I’ve served with in 16 years,” he declared.

Alston added more in an interview Thursday: “I’d put Brenda up against Harry Jones any day.” He rates her highly based on her work to avoid a tax increase by trimming $24 million in county spending. “She’s done exactly what we’ve asked her to.”

Alston disagrees with Jones that it’s necessarily bad to replace managers frequently. Elected boards change members every two-to-four years and have the right to move in a different direction. Even Fox can count on keeping her position only as long as her work pleases a majority of commissioners: “If Brenda falls down on her job it’s our fiduciary responsibility to the citizens of this county to get rid of her,” Alston said.

The question is what constitutes falling down on the job. It shouldn’t be a matter of power or politics.

Jones said he asked his commissioners to set objective standards to evaluate his performance each year. The Guilford commissioners don’t have those for their manager, but should.

A manager who carries out her board’s orders to the last detail may be just what’s needed. But Jones and other panelists said it’s important to establish a partnership between the professional manager and elected leaders.

Both must help develop a strategic vision for the organization and figure out policies to achieve it. Too much turnover for the wrong reasons can disrupt that process and stem progress. And a manager should feel free to challenge elected officials to do their part better without worrying about losing his job.

As the Greensboro City Council seeks a new manager following the tumultuous dismissal of Mitch Johnson, it should find someone who will share leadership responsibilities as well as carry out council directives, challenge council members and try to do what’s right even at the risk of being fired.