OPINION: Ex-administrator had good ideas

Charles Curry plowed into his job as Dillon County administrator like a bull in a china shop. He will leave with his tail between his legs, fired in a 4-3 vote by the Dillon County Council after 90 days of attempting to shake up government in the Pee Dee county of 31,000.

Curry, who oversaw a $16 million budget and 250 employees, has not commented on his dismissal.

Instead of taking time to adjust to his surroundings and employees, the former Dillon County attorney alienated staff and constituents with changes they were not prepared to make.

If Curry had waited and secured buy-in from those charged with executing his mandates, he probably still would be reporting to work every morning.

In letting Curry go, the council mainly cited his lack of judgment in mediating a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission case.

In reality, it had just as much to do with his other decisions as administrator.

Curry was hand-delivered a letter June 18. It told him of his dismissal, effective immediately.

In it, county council members wrote Curry displayed a “serious lack of judgment, bordering on ethical impropriety” during the EEOC case and was “particularly slow and less than forthcoming in bringing the case to the attention of council.”

The EEOC asked the council to mediate the case, which involved Curry’s hiring. Instead, Curry mediated it without the council’s permission,  amounting to a conflict and putting Curry’s interest over the county’s.

Curry had difficulty adjusting from being a county attorney, a job that requires less diplomacy, to being an administrator. The letter firing him said he lacked “the professional judgment required for a competent progressive county administrator in as diverse and forward-aspiring county as ours.”

Earlier actions set the stage for immediate conflict as well. While laudable, some of his decisions were controversial and set up his administration for criticism and failure.

Curry immediately instituted a no-smoking policy in all county buildings and decided all employees who smoked would pay higher health insurance premiums in 2010.

Banning smoking from the workplace is a good decision, but in this case, the marching orders were not handled delicately.

The second controversial decision was to switch hours for the county roads and bridges department. Curry wanted employees to work four, 10-hour days instead of five, eight-hour days. Again, his thinking was logical and sound, but he went about it without getting a consensus from the employees.

Another necessary change was enforcement of the county’s fire-call policy. But since it was not a priority previously, it caught honest, well-meaning people off guard.

At a council meeting, the former administrator said payment would only be made to firemen who went to the fire call, regardless of rank. One firefighter was suspended with pay, setting off a firestorm. Only the administrator could reinstate a firefighter after a suspension.

In a tight economy, Curry tried to save money. One action was to eliminate reimbursement for meeting, traveling and training expenses for the Registration Board and Election Commission members. The decision might have saved a few hundred dollars for the county, but it cut into anyone’s desire to serve on the board.

Curry brought an independent and analytical mind to his position. One supporter on a Facebook page backing Curry wrote, “I hope these people realize what a horrible and short-sighted mistake they are making. They finally get an honest person involved, and they ... run him out. ”

The former administrator had good ideas. He just lacked the finesse to earn support. He did not have time to earn the respect of voters and taxpayers, though he desperately was trying to change politics as usual.

— Unsigned editorials represent the views of this newspaper. Editorial Board members are Mark Laskowski (regional publisher), James Bennett (regional editor), Sam Bundy (sports editor), Kimberly Ginfrida (news editor), David Johnson (regional circulation director), Charles Tomlinson (Lake City News & Post editor) and Jackie Torok (metro editor).