Preston County administrator position to become two roles

Jan. 22—KINGWOOD — When Preston County Administrator Kathy Mace retires at the end of June, her job will be split into two.

Mace proposed the restructuring of the county's administrative staff to the county's commissioners at a work session on Tuesday. The commissioners said they liked her plan.

The first position, county coordinator, would handle the day-to-day operations, such as grant writing. It would also oversee office staff and the animal shelter.

One area where the county needs help is maintaining its website and social media pages, Mace said. She assigned that duty to the county coordinator because they would be more in touch with the daily happenings and said she thought it was really important.

The second job, facilities manager, will also be a supervisory role watching over custodial and maintenance staff.

In Mace's mind, the facilities manager will be a working manager, not someone who isn't engaged. Springtime will be very busy with multiple large projects, including a roof for the jail building.

"So they do need some knowledge about facilities and bidding and those kind of things, " Mace said.

There was discussion on how to advertise the job postings and everyone agreed it was important to start soon. Commissioners will have feedback on the job descriptions, required qualifications and preferred qualifications by Jan. 25 and the topic will be placed on the Feb. 1 agenda.

A decision will also have to be made on the county's IT administration—should it continue to contract the service out, hire an in-house person, or develop a hybrid approach ?

Mace said the company they're working with has been extremely helpful, knows the county's product and knows what's going on. However, she said more dialogue is needed, especially with the 911 center and sheriff—two of the biggest users of IT services.

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