McNeill to decide soon
Interim Guilford County Manager David McNeill says he'll decide "in the next few days" whether or not to apply for the permanent job.
McNeill would be considered a leading candidate to run Guilford's $525 million government, especially since some Republican commissioners want to stop the nationwide search for a new manager and simply give McNeill the post if he wants it.
Other commissioners aren't as warm toward their top executive. A couple weeks ago, Democrat Melvin "Skip" Alston promised to be tough on McNeill if he was made manager.
Alston and fellow Democrat Bruce Davis were the only two commissioners to vote against McNeill's appointment to the interim post after the board fired Willie Best June 29.
"Whoever gets the job will be working for the entire board," McNeill said of Alston's comments. "I don’t dwell on things like that."
Update, 9:20 a.m. Thursday: Commissioners' chairwoman Carolyn Coleman has extended the cutoff date for applications from Aug. 18 to Sept. 1, so McNeill has some more time. When asked Wednesday if he would make up his mind this week, he said, "I doubt it, now."
Also, as of Thursday morning, the county had received 17 applications for the position, according to human resources director Sharisse Fuller. The county started advertising for the position around July 25.
The last time the county looked for a new manager, in 2003, 73 people applied, Fuller said.
"It may not get to that point, but I certainly think it could get close," Coleman said of the number of applications. "Again, it's vacation season and some people just didn't know about it."