Carolina Curious: What does a county manager do?

For this week’s Carolina Curious, a Forsyth County resident wanted to know more about the role of a county manager – what does this position do exactly? To find out, WFDD’s Bethany Chafin spoke to someone with plenty of knowledge.

No two days in the life of a county manager are the same. That’s according to Shontell Robinson, who has held the post for Forsyth County since July of last year.

“If I had to describe my day-to-day job in one word, I would say 'fixer,' and I would say, [I'm] just really trying to help resolve whatever the issue of the day is.”

The position is appointed by the Board of Commissioners and is responsible for carrying out their policies and procedures, as well as overseeing the day-to-day operations of the county.

“I’m making sure that we are delivering county services, which we have over 25 departments that provide critical services to our community, such as law enforcement and the emergency medical services, public health, social services, parks, libraries – the gamut,” she says.

Another way of looking at it is that Robinson serves as the county’s chief executive officer. Currently, she’s deep in numbers.

“What is near and dear to me right now is that I serve as the budget officer, and so I have to prepare the county's annual operating budget and capital plan and provide a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.”

Robinson will present her first budget recommendation as county manager on May 8. The Board will likely adopt the budget sometime in June.

Another key piece of this role is connecting with residents, community groups, and other public agencies. As Robinson puts it, she’s a convener and collaborator. She says that if anyone has any questions, comments or concerns, she's readily available.

So, to sum it up: a county manager is likely doing a little bit of everything.