Hope Mills Board of Commissioners holding off on hiring town manager

As the interim town manager for Hope Mills enters his seventh month in the role, he won't have to worry about facing competition for a permanent position any time soon, according to Mayor Jackie Warner. Warner said Thursday that her colleagues on the Board of Commissioners plan to hold off on hiring an official town manager until after the Nov. 7 election.

Interim Town Manager Chancer McLaughlin stepped into the role Feb. 6 after former Town Manager Scott Meszaros abruptly resigned. McLaughlin previously served as the town's economic development planner and has been with Hope Mills since 2015.

Warner said that permanently filling the role wouldn't be a good idea with the possibility of a new Board of Commissioners on the horizon.

“The board would make the decision because that's who hires the town manager,” she said. “Their intent is to wait,

I'm sure. They actually said they were giving him a six-month trial period, so I think that's kind of where we are.”

With Town Clerk Jane Starling retiring in November, the town is also preparing to search for a new town clerk and a new administrative assistant, Warner said.

“We've got a lot of changes that are gonna happen pretty soon,” she said.

Compounding the desire to wait to fill the town manager position is the busy period that Hope Mills is currently in, Warner said. She noted McLaughlin has been involved with recent projects like a new public safety building, the hiring of a new fire chief and the construction of an all-inclusive playground.

“We've got so many things going on,” she said. “There's so many projects that I don't think we wanna change hats again because they're close to completion.”

Warner said that the board is happy with McLaughlin's performance as interim town manager. His experience with planning and development has been advantageous, she said.

“He's done a good job and I think he's very responsive to staff and to the community,” said Warner. “Right now, he's accomplishing what we need.”

If McLaughlin isn't hired as the town manager, he will return to his role as the economic development planner, Warner said.

“He'll still be with the town,” she said.

'I'm development-driven'

McLaughlin said Friday that he wouldn't comment on the selection process for the town manager position but confirmed that he will apply when the time comes.

"I don't make that decision," he said. "I'm just too busy trying to run the town."

Describing his approach to the town's management as "hands-on," McLaughlin said that he feels his focus on quality development and community service are an advantage to Hope Mills.

"I always say this — I'm not developer-driven, I'm development-driven," he said. "While we're also making sure that quality developments come into the town, we're also holding the developers' feet to the fire to make sure that these developers are quality developers that benefit the citizens of the town because that's basically who we're doing all of this for."

McLaughlin previously worked for the city of Atlanta and the city of Greensboro, bringing 23 years of experience in municipal government to the table, he said.

"I also am bringing a metropolitan type of lens to what we're doing in Hope Mills, which is helping with the growth because we're one of the top-growing municipalities in the region," he said.

Residents should know that they can approach him with any concerns, he said.

"If there is an issue that the citizens bring, they know that they're gonna get a call from the town manager," he said.