Promised McCoy announcement hasn’t been made

ALBANY — Despite assurances from four separate sources close to the situation, the Dougherty County Commission had not formally announced by The Albany Herald’s press time Saturday that Mike McCoy has been determined the best-qualified candidate for the county administrator position that he now holds on an interim basis.

Dougherty County Human Resources Director Dominique Hall, in response to an email from The Herald, said late Thursday that the County Commission had narrowed the search and was prepared to announce finalist(s).

“Sorry for the delayed response and any inconvenience that this may have caused,” Hall wrote in her email to The Herald. “The Commission has narrowed down the finalist(s), and we are preparing a press release of the name(s).”

The newspaper has so far not received that press release.

One of the individuals who confirmed that McCoy has been named as the best-qualified candidate is Albany attorney Maurice King, who represents the interim administrator. King told The Herald on Thursday that McCoy would be named the lone finalist, pointing to an Open Records response he received from County Attorney Spencer Lee.

That response, which cited applicable state law, concluded with the paragraph, “Subject to all of the foregoing, we respond that as of the time of this response, Michael McCoy’s name is being released to you as the next most qualified person under consideration who has not declined the position. His application documents will be forwarded to you at your office in the morning.”

As county officials and the public await final word on the administrator position, there are rumblings that dissension among commissioners during the process of naming a permanent administrator has impacted morale among administrative staff. One employee in the downtown Government Center said Friday that county employees have found themselves in a “toxic environment” and said that many are considering other job opportunities. Some, the employee said, have already agreed to take other positions.

When — and if — McCoy is actually confirmed as the best-qualified candidate for the administrator position, a 14-day waiting period will follow. During that period, the County Commission will consider all comments, positive and negative, as to McCoy’s qualifications. If there are no complications, the word “interim” will be removed from his title.

But another person close to the situation said Friday, “They (the county commissioners who have fought McCoy’s ascension to the administrator position) are not going to give up. They are being manipulated by people who see this as some kind of power struggle. I don’t know what they might try to do, but I feel certain they’ll make an attempt to keep this from happening.”

Contacted Friday, McCoy elected not to comment on the situation.