Almost 10 months after the abrupt resignation of County Manager Ira Dove, Haywood County is drawing closer to finding his permanent replacement. 

“We’ve had a good pool of candidates to pick from and so far we have interviewed five total,” said Commissioner Brandon Rogers. 

The Haywood County Board of Commissioners held two separate closed sessions at the end of July during which commissioners went into closed session to interview potential candidates for the job.

“Hopefully out of the five they will find one candidate that fits the bill,” said Interim County Manager Joel Mashburn.

The Haywood County native Mashburn has filled the role since Dove’s departure, but it’s not exactly new territory for him – he was Macon County’s manager from 1974 to 1979, Henderson County’s administrator from 1979 through 1984, Greenville (S.C.) County’s administrator from 1984 to 1988, and Iredell County’s manager for 23 years until retiring in 2011. 

All that experience tells him that commissioners are looking for more than just a fancy resume.

“It’s not just their qualifications on paper,” he said. “Candidates have to mesh together and have good chemistry with the board, and as they’re sitting across the table, they’re also interviewing commissioners.”

Dove had served in the role since 2014, earning about $125,000 upon appointment and about $145,000 when he left, not including various allowances and benefits. A new candidate would likely see compensation in that range. 

Commissioners wrapped up interviews July 30.

“Out of the five, we spent some time after the last interviews trying to decide among them,” Rogers said, adding that they spent more than 90 minutes with each. “We have some fabulous candidates.”

Rogers said he’s looking for “somebody who can take us to the next level.”

But like Mashburn, Rogers also says that the candidate needs to be a good fit with commissioners and a good fit with the county at large. 

“We’re not in a huge hurry, but we are wanting to get someone in place, get them settled and get things going,” he said. 

Commissioners, Rogers said, would likely make a decision in the next few weeks or months.