Horry County Council to vote on hiring of new administrator

CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – Horry County Council will soon vote on the hiring of a new county administrator.

According to the meeting agenda, county council will vote on a new administrator on Tuesday.

On June 26, Horry County Council decided to not hold its first round of interviews for a permanent county administrator in public.

Council chair Johnny Gardner wanted the five candidates to be interviewed publicly, but most council members disagreed. Gardner posted on Facebook previously, accusing several members of “effectively attempting a coup” to make interim administrator Steve Gosnell as permanent administrator before conducting the interviews.

When the public meeting started at 1 p.m., council member Johnny Vaught, who represents the Forestbrook area, moved to go into executive session for the interviews. After about five minutes of contentious discussion, council voted 10-2 in favor of the executive session. Then, they started interviewing the candidates privately in a conference room.

Gardner confronted Vaught before council voted.

For more on what Gardner and Vaught said, click here.

In June, News13 reported that the search for a new county administrator had been narrowed to five candidates.

Those candidates include:

1. William “Jon” Caime, Laurens County Administrator
2. Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach and Clemmons Law Firm
3. Steve Gosnell, Horry County Interim Administrator
4. Wayne Gray, senior vice president, Synovus Bank, Myrtle Beach
5. William Shanahan, York County Manager

In April, Gardner announced that Steve Gosnell would serve as the interim administrator for the government, effective April 18.