Garland will stay on as finance director
Becky Garland has served as Graham County Manager since 2017. She informed the Graham County Board of Commissioners of her forthcoming departure from the role at its Jan. 19 meeting.
Robbinsville – After four years on the job, Becky Garland is transitioning out of her role as Graham County’s manager.
Garland informed the board of commissioners of her exit during closed session Jan. 19, then sat down with The Graham Star on Friday for exclusive insight into what led to her decision.
‘Shocked the board’
Garland’s resignation came as a surprise to the board, but not to the manager. It’s a decision she’s been wrestling with since last summer.
“As a government official, I’m not supposed to talk on a spiritual level, but I knew when I put my name in the hat four years ago that this is what God wanted me to do,” Garland said. “Probably since June, I have felt this pressing (feeling) that it’s time to lay it down. I have gone against that for a lot of months, but at the same time, I know God gave me specific things that he pressed on me to do and we’ve achieved a whole lot of that.
“I knew we needed to steady the ship. We’ve made great inroads. We’ve gotten $2.5 million in grants; we wanted to get more grant funding in here. We’ve empowered our department managers, so they feel confident about what they’re doing. I can’t say enough good about them. They work hard and take pride in their work.”
‘We’re building a house’
There is no doubt that Garland, who holds a master of public administration degree from Western Carolina University, has peace about her decision. It helps that she is staying on as Graham County’s finance director.
She told the board she would work an 8-week notice as county manager, then stay on to assist her successor with the 2021-22 budget, which is due June 30.
“My part of the house is to build a foundation, so I’m ready to step back a little and go back to my first love: finance,” Garland said. “I’m ready to pass this on to somebody else who wants to take it and finish building the house. We’ve got a lot ready to pop.
“We’re in the very primitive stages of building a new courthouse and the board needs Jason Marino’s (county project manager) expertise – and my expertise to be laser-sharp – when it comes to financing for the courthouse. There are so many layers of due diligence that we have to get done.
“We’re also hoping to build a new cemetery building, a new recreation building and finish up the election board (remodel, which will see the entity move to a wing of the Graham County Community Building). I told the board that they need me for the next 71/2 years – that’s when I hope to retire – to keep 100 percent of my focus on finance, so when I walk away, the finance house that we’ve built can stay strong.”
Eventual tranquility
As someone with a tireless work ethic – including calling in via Zoom to meetings while on vacation – Garland has earned some downtime.
“I’m going to be a straight-shooter: is Becky tired? Absolutely,” Garland said. “The board trusted me with both roles – and they still do; they’re not exactly thrilled that I’m leaving – and even through this COVID and managing the CARES Act funding, that’s a lot of responsibility in one head. None of us are assured tomorrow and there’s a heck of a lot of knowledge in this noggin that needs to be dispersed. If something happened to me today, it’s going to leave the county in a bad place.
“This is also (a) personal (decision); I’ve got family; my kids. Grandkids. My parents. I want to be available to them if they need me. I don’t want them trying to figure out a schedule around my schedule.
“But there’s also Becky; Becky would like to read books again. I jumped straight from graduate school into this job, so I want to be able to go hike; go to the beach when I want to go. Not be a slacker; but at the same time, have a little more flexibility.”
But even while making a slow exit, Garland is still eyeing the long-term welfare of Graham County.
“It’s time for the county to move forward; we have to do succession planning,” Garland said. “My job is to empower whoever they bring in as county manager – and be their right hand, as I was before – and I am looking to hire another professional finance officer in the next 2-3 years, so that when I walk out of here in 71/2 years, I can say that I did some really good work here in Graham County.
“I had perfect peace walking into this role, and I’ve got perfect peace walking away from it.”