Scudder Abruptly Resigns as Fluvanna County Administrator
November 6, 2011
Nov. 6-Mr. Jay Scudder, the Fluvanna County Administrator, resigned abruptly after the November 2nd Board of Supervisors meeting. Multiple sources reported the Board was not pleased with his performance.
Jay Scudder resigned from the same postion in Patrick County, VA about 1 year ago.
Free Enterprise Forum
Reference:
http://freeenterpriseforum.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/fluvanna-county-administrator-resigns-abruptly/
Nov 6-2011
By William J. Des Rochers, Fluvanna Field Officer
Mr. Jay Scudder, the Fluvanna County Administrator, resigned abruptly after the November 2nd Board of Supervisors public meeting. The Board had gone into closed session to discuss Mr. Scudder’s job performance after his initial year in the position.
According to multiple sources, a strong majority of the Board was not pleased with Scudder’s performance and voted not to retain him. Since Scudder was not fired for cause, he was eligible for a financial severance package but chose instead to resign.
The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, John Gooch, will be the acting county administrator. He met with the county staff Thursday morning to deliver the news.
According to multiple sources, Scudder alienated the staff almost from the outset of his tenure and never managed to gain their confidence. Supervisors became aware of the problem and also had their own difficulties with the administrator. Some believed as administrator, he was developing his own agenda and was not as supportive of the Board’s policies as he might have been.
Sources also indicate that Supervisors were particularly concerned about the upcoming budget and did not feel that Scudder had sufficient command of the budgetary issues facing the county. In addition, Scudder publically advocated for several acquaintances to receive consulting jobs with the county. Several supervisors expressed disappointment in such advocacy.
The last time Fluvanna advertised for a county administrator, it had a difficult time finding someone who was qualified for the position, and employed a management search firm. The Board is expected to do the same thing again.
