Albany, Dougherty County officials welcome new county administrator

ALBANY – Although he’s a Chicago native whose last job was in the Atlanta suburb of East Point, Dougherty County’s new county administrator has some experience working in the rural part of the state.

The resume for Deron King, who attended his first Dougherty County Commission meeting in his new role on Monday, includes a stint as city manager in Waycross.

“I’m no stranger to south Georgia,” King, who also previously served as city manager in Forsyth and Stone Mountain, said of working in a primarily rural community. “This is nothing new to me.”

After an initial meet-and-greet opportunity scheduled last week was postponed due to Hurricane Helene, King met employees and members of the public during a reception held Monday morning following the Dougherty Commission’s regular meeting. King addressed an audience that included county department heads, former Albany Mayor Willie Adams, city of Albany employees, District Attorney Greg Edwards and Superior Court Judge Joe Dent.

During his remarks, the new county administrator identified some of his goals, including economic development, addressing blight, collaborating with the city and area entities including Albany State University, Albany Technical College and Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, and spending local dollars with local vendors.

“Economic development is at the top of that list,” he said. “People need jobs. Anything we can do to bring more growth to our community … I think we need to do this. Blight can be a harbinger of crime. I think addressing it is very important.”

Traditionally, the county and city have funded the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission, which includes members from both the county and city commissions. Asked how he would be more active as the county administrator in driving economic development, King said he has not yet decided.

“I think I have to be flexible, to fill any areas they need me to fill in,” he said. “I’m excited about meeting with the team and seeing where I fit in.”

Albany has some things going for it with the key secondary education institutions and the region’s largest hospital, King said.

“All the components are there to move forward,” he said. “The goal is we want to stabilize the population, stabilize the community (and) keep people working and playing here.”

As he assumes his new role, the county administrator said he wants to get out and visit each of the six commission districts and meet people.

That will show him “being actively engaged, being active in the community,” King said, adding, “if we can’t lift (residents) up, we’re not placing our community where it can succeed.”

The new administrator, who was hired on the votes of four commissioners, with two voting no and one commissioner abstaining, said that the less-than-unanimous vote is not something that weighs on his mind.

“I don’t look at that, to be honest,” he said. “My thing is to always focus on the administrative role.”

King replaces former County Administrator Michael McCoy, who was fired by a 4-3 vote in May 2023. King was one of about 25 candidates who applied for the job in Dougherty County and one of three interviewed for the position, officials said.

Although he was not among the majority in the vote to employ King, District 1 Commissioner Ed Newsome said he welcomes King aboard.

“Here’s my take on it: I’m going to do everything in my power to support him and to make sure he’s successful, and work with him any way I can to make his time here productive,” Newsome said. “It’s in the best interest of our citizens that the board support him. I just feel strongly, regardless of anything, you wipe the slate clean.

“That’s exactly what I told the commissioners at our retreat, (that) no matter what happened in the past, we’ve got to move forward.”

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
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