Council hires new county administrator
By JIM FAILE
DARLINGTON - Darlington County Council voted 7 – 0 Monday to hire Dale K. Surrett of Seneca as the new county administrator for Darlington County.
The vote came at about 9:30 p.m. after an executive session during which council twice called Surrett into the closed session.
Surrett, the former county administrator for Oconee and McCormick counties and the former town administrator for Moncks Corner, will begin his new duties on Jan. 3, one day before council’s first regular meeting of 2011.
“Thank you for your confidence,’ Surrett told council members just after the vote.
Chairman Billy Baldwin said Surrett will be paid an annual base salary of $95,000.
“I’m humbled by the vote,” Surrett said after the meeting.
“It’s very nice to come into a situation where you have a council that is in full agreement, and I intend to work very hard to maintain that confidence.”
Council members, department heads and staff who were present congratulated Surrett after the meeting, which was the last regularly scheduled meeting for council in 2010.
Surrett, a former public safety officer, had been the leading contender for the position for several weeks among the three finalists for the position named by council in October.
Baldwin said he was pleased with the search process and with the outcome and said he is glad the process is over.
Former County Administrator Phyllis Griffitts retired from the position in July after nearly 12 years in the job. Former Florence City Manager Tommy Edwards, who is also a former county administrator for Florence and Georgetown counties, has been serving as interim county administrator until council could find a replacement.
Councilman Alex “Buz” Shaw of Hartsville had to leave the meeting early and was not present for the vote
Surrett served as county administrator in Oconee County from July 2007 to May 2009. He was abruptly fired from that position by a divided Oconee County Council amid political controversy on a 3 – 2 vote on April 14, 2009, with three new council members elected in 2008 voting to terminate his employment.
Baldwin said he and other Darlington council members were aware of the circumstances surrounding Surrett’s departure from the Oconee County position, had checked into it and were satisfied that he was the candidate for the job.
In Oconee County, Surrett was responsible for the administration of 450 county employees and the implementation and administration of a $45 million annual operating budget.
He served as town administrator in Moncks Corner from October 2004 to July 2007, where he oversaw 55 employees and a $5 million budget.
From July of 1999 to October of 2004, Surrett served as county administrator in McCormick County. There he was responsible for 125 employees and a $10 million budget.
Surrett served as emergency preparedness coordinator for Greenville County from September 1993 to July 1999. He served as a criminal investigator with the Richland County Sheriff’s Office from March 1990 to September 1993 and as a deputy sheriff from March 1988 to March 1990.
He also worked as a security inspector with Wackenhut Services at the Savannah River site in Aiken from October1986 to March 1988, as a public safety officer for the Aiken Department of Public Safety from February 1985 to October 1986 and as a public safety fire officer from October 1981 to February 1985. In 1980 and 1981, he worked as a lifeguard and water safety instructor with the Aiken Department of Parks and Recreation.
Surrett graduated from the University of South Carolina Aiken in May 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and an associate’s degree in criminal justice. He received his master’s degree in public administration from USC in Columbia in May 1993.
Two other candidates were named as finalists for the position. They were Monticello, Ga., City Manager Robert P. Schwartz and Dennis R Sparks of Hopewell, Va., a self-employed management consultant who has worked as a city manager and county administrator in five states.
Council selected the three finalists from among 43 original applicants for the position.
Welcome to Darlington County Mr. Surrett!