York Co. Council taps Shanahan for County Manager
After hours of discussion behind closed doors, York County Council voted unanimously late Monday night to name Bill Shanahan as the next County Manager.
Monday’s decision was the second round of in-person interviews with council following a first round of interviews on August 13.
Shanahan currently serves as the deputy administrator of Augusta, Ga. Shanahan and Steve Layson, the Chief Administrator of Bibb County, Ga., were called back for final interviews last week.
“They were so close that depending on the minute of the night, it might have flipped the other way,” said York County Council chairman Britt Blackwell. “But in the end everybody agreed that with either one, they would be an excellent county manager. We could not go wrong.”
Shanahan was hired in Augusta in February 2011 and oversaw the city’s operations, including emergency services, solid waste, parks and recreation and engineering, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
His past work in the government sector includes a seven-year stint as the city manager of St. Mary’s, Ga.
Shanahan retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1996.
Layson, the second finalist, was hired in 2005 as the Chief Administrative Officer of Bibb County, Ga. His prior service includes a one-year stint as the County Administrator of Jones County, Ga., and 11 years in an elected position as the chairman of the Putnam County Board of Commissioners in Eatonton, Ga.
Blackwell said the next step is to negotiate a contract with Shanahan, a contract he would like to have finalized in the next few weeks. If all goes well, including a background check, Blackwell said he would like to see Shanahan in office within the next 45 days.
Shanahan will succeed Jim Baker, who left York County in January for a similar job at the City of Chesapeake, Va.