Erwin Town Manager Richard Douglas has been fired.
A special meeting of the Erwin Town Board was called Monday night and the commissioners unanimously decided to let Mr. Douglas go.
“The commissioners and myself feel like we wanted to see Erwin go in a different direction and we terminated our town manager,” Erwin Mayor Patsy Carson said. She said the town will be in contact with the N.C. League of Municipalities to find an interim town manager.
Tuesday morning Erwin’s department heads were notified. Mrs. Carson did not want to comment on the reasons behind the decision.
The Daily Record had received complaints about how the office staff was treated and the inability of Mr. Douglas to mend those differences. Mayor Carson would not say if that was part of the problem. Mr. Douglas came to Erwin in July 2013 after leaving the Town of Selma as their manager.
Douglas took the place of interim Erwin Town Manger Pete Connet, who was hired from the N.C. League of Municipalities in late December 2012.
Prior to Mr. Connet, the town manager was Bryan Thompson, who left for a similar position in Siler City.
Mr. Douglas is a West Virginia native. He had served in Selma since October 2008 before coming to Erwin. Before his time in Johnston County, he served as Raeford city manager from 2004 to 2008. In addition, he also served as Long County administrator in Georgia from 2000 to 2004.
The Town of Erwin has not yet determined the cost to close out Mr. Douglas’ contract. Mr. Douglas was earning $76,886 a year in Erwin. Story courtesy The Daily Record
