NEWBERRY — In March, Jeff Shacker was appointed to the role of County Administrator. Although Newberry is nothing new for him as someone with a history of working alongside Newberry and other city and county governments in the upstate.
“So I was working at the City of Newberry from June 2001 to April 2013. And I had several different titles, but I finished as city manager,” Shacker said. “I went to the Municipal Association of South Carolina which was sort of like a consulting role. I worked with all the cities and municipalities in the upstate.”
Included in those cities and municipalities were those in Newberry county.
“So I worked with the mayors and council members and managers or administrators, if the cities had such a person,” Said Shacker. “I was available to do the training and help them with modeling documents, ordinances, resolutions, agreements, I’d do research for them.”
Shacker explained that his time working in the city and MASC has better prepared him for his role as county administrator. His experiences have allowed for him to adjust as he learns how the county operates, as not every government is run the same.
“It was really beneficial and kind of interesting, and so I’ve had the ability to apply that here,” Shacker said as he began to explain the differences that he’d seen. “I mean, just to be able to work with all the cities and towns and build relationships with people all over the state, I just couldn’t have done that in any other job.”
Working with a large of municipalities gave Shacker insight into the four different ways that county government can operate. In Newberry County (and City), the County-Administrator form of government is used and has been since it was adopted in 1975.
The County-Administrator form of government has elected officials in the legislative branch, who are the county’s council members. The council makes and passes laws, adopts policies and legislation and allocates money through resolutions (a written proposal, where a verbal one is called a motion) that must be adopted through an ordinance.
“In this form of county government, the executive branch of government is headed by a county administrator, which is the chief administrative officer of the county,” Shacker said.
Although responsibilities are shared among other elected officials, who have administrative functions, it is the county administrators job to make sure the council follows through on what they set in motion.
“Our job is to carry out the duties that have been delegated to us by the county council and make sure that their ordinances and their policies and their budgets is administered in accordance with what they adopted,” Shacker said.
Shacker feels as if his time as city manager and in MASC has better equipped him for the position of county administrator. It’s given him not only an idea of how Newberry operates, but an idea of how other counties, cities and towns operate. The knowledge and experience he’s gained allows for him to see that there is more than one way of doing things.
“I think having seen all these different approaches to government, it makes it easier for me to adapt because I recognize that there’s not just one way to do things,” said Shacker. “You just have to figure out what’s best for, in this case, Newberry County.”
Shacker started right in the middle of the hectic budgeting process, but with it completed, he said he has more time to focus on the county, getting to know it and its current and future projects. Projects include the branding of a new county logo system, the capital project sales tax, the comprehensive plan for the county and the adoption and implementation of an economic plan for the county.
“We’ve got some internal initiatives,” Shacker started. “We’ve got a new software that we’re in the process of implementing and a new financial software. We’ve gone to ADP for payroll and we’ve got the website, that’s a major initiative.”
The county government is one of the larger employers in Newberry, according to Shacker. Each and every person and their role matters; his role is just one of many important roles.
“The position of county administrator is an important position, but it’s one of many important positions in the county,” explained Shacker. “We’re one of the larger employers in the county and every one of the employees and elected officials at the county have an important role they fulfill.”
The role of county administrator is one that Shacker has said he enjoys, his favorite part being able to meet and work alongside so many individuals.
“I would say the opportunity just to work with a lot of different people with different backgrounds and developing relationships with them,” Shacker said. “To me, that’s the part I enjoy the most.”
“It’s just nice to be a part of it and it’s nice to be part of the team. It’s a team environment,” Shacker continued. “And we’ve got a great team here in Newberry County.”
Reach Orion Griffin @ 803-768-3122 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.