SB165 Summary

• Jefferson County Commission shall employ a county manager as an at-will employee serving at the pleasure of the commission, with selection requiring a four-fifths vote and use of a national search firm.

• County manager must possess a Master's Degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, or Juris Doctorate from an accredited U.S. institution, or alternatively have minimum 10 years aggregate experience as chief operating or executive officer of a public or private organization.

• County manager serves as chief executive officer with authority over department heads and county employees (excluding elected officials and county attorneys), can hire deputy managers and chief financial officer, and receives salary at least equal to median for similar-sized southeastern counties.

• Termination requires four-fifths vote of the commission, with grounds for removal including ineligibility, malfeasance, felony conviction, failure to perform duties, or mental or physical unfitness; terminated manager may receive three months severance unless dismissed for cause.

• Position is full-time and exempt from county merit system; commission can abolish the position by unanimous vote; search firm must submit no more than three finalist applicants for commission selection.