Guilford hires new county attorney
GREENSBORO — The last open chair in the county’s top administration was filled this week when commissioners hired a permanent county attorney.
Commissioners hired Johnston County Attorney Mark Payne at a salary of $145,000 with a $3,600 annual vehicle allowance and $5,000 to move here .
The hire sets to rest an office that has been in flux for nearly a year and provides the county with a key person to handle lawsuits, represent the county in court, write contracts and deal with other legal issues.
“I’m very appreciative of the offer,” Payne told commissioners as he accepted the terms Thursday .
The path leading up to Payne’s hire was fraught with change that cost thousands of tax dollars and pushed the post into controversy.
Last December, after Chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston and Vice Chairman Steve Arnold were voted to head the Board of Commissioners, then-County Manager David McNeill , deputy manager Ben Brown and county attorney Sharron Kurtz all stepped down or retired with very short notice.
McNeill and Brown were forced out after closed-door meetings with Alston and Arnold.
The circumstances around Kurtz’s resignation were never detailed.
In the three months following her departure, the county churned through a deputy attorney who left for another job, nearly signed a law firm that backed out over a “conflict of interest,” and watched a retired Alamance County attorney come and then resign on a day’s notice.
The commissioners also performed their own, unsuccessful, search for an attorney.
Finally, the commissioners appointed sheriff’s office attorney Matthew Mason as interim county attorney and hired an outside law firm while a consultant searched for an attorney.
The ordeal cost the county about $50,000, although the exact amount is difficult to determine because of the many contracts involved.
“We’ve done a lot of work looking to see what was wrong with the attorney’s office,” Alston said after the unanimous vote. “And we took our time to evaluate the circumstances.”
Payne knows he’s stepping into a job that has been in flux for nearly a year.
“I’ll let them do their job. and I’ll do mine,” he said.
Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com
COMMISSIONER INSIDER
News and notes from the Guilford County commissioners meeting.
A DAY HOME
Plans for a downtown homeless day center received big help from commissioners Thursday when they pledged $275,000 to help The Interactive Resource Center renovate a warehouse .
“It’s a promise to promise,” said Commissioner Paul Gibson , who, with commissioners Alston and Mike Winstead brought the issue forward.
The center has been operating at a temporary site at a church and planned to move to the donated building, the former Southern Plate & Window Glass Co. building on East Washington Street.
But the group only had about $355,000 of at least $500,000 needed for the move and renovation. The center will offer homeless people a place to do laundry, catch a meal, shower and learn skills. Most of that money came from Greensboro, with $40,000 from grants.
“This put us over the hump, for sure,” Liz Seymour, director of the day center, said after the commissioners decision.
The group hopes to have the new day center open by late spring.
CONNECT
Got a news tip? Contact staff writer Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com
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