Council appoints new city manager; Brandon Carter hired unanimously at special meeting
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LOCK HAVEN -- After months of searching, multiple interviews and public meet and greets, Lock Haven City Council unanimously approved hiring Brandon Carter as its next city manager.
Carter was one of two candidates up for consideration during the final round of interviews, which took place in late July.
Carter will be moving to Lock Haven from Sumter, S.C., where he recently served as executive director of finance for Lake City, S.C. and, unofficially, as its interim city administrator for a time.
Prior to this role he was an accounting specialist for HireQuest Incorporated from October 2021 to January 2023; an office manager for Harris Ventures DBA Staff Zone from July 2020 to October 2021 and an administrative specialist for the United States Marine Corp. from July 2012 to February 2016.
Carter holds a master of business administration with a concentration in business administration from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., and is a Certified Public Funds Investment Manager.
Carter told The Express he's honored to be appointed to the position.
"I am deeply honored to be appointed as the City Manager of Lock Haven. I do not take this appointment lightly due to my steadfast commitment of youth progression within the government sector," he said.
Now officially starting in the role, Carter said his overall goal is to "help lead the city towards a stronger, more prosperous future."
"I am committed in bolstering public safety, promoting economic development as well as implementing activities and initiatives that will draw greater participation from the community. I want the citizens of Lock haven to know that I have an open-door policy, and I am just a phone call away," he continued.
He also is encouraging residents to speak to him about their thoughts and ideas to better the municipality.
"Please do not hesitate to share your ideas and visions with me. I am looking forward to working together to build a stronger future," he said.
Prior to Carter's appointment, council approved continuing a partial stipend for two of its staff that picked up duties following the termination of former city manager, Greg Wilson.
Mayor Joel Long noted, following Wilson's departure, council elected to pay various members of staff a monthly stipend while the search for a new top administrator took place. The understanding was these stipends would end once a new manager was hired.
Long proposed two of these employees -- City Planner Abbey Roberts, who served as interim manager, and Administrative Secretary Wendi Spicher -- received half of their original stipend during Carter's transition into the role.
"I want to give Brandon time to transition. He's going to have a lot of things on his plate and having that additional support and supporting our staff is the right thing to do," Long said.
He said it was previously suggested the partial stipends continue for two months and then be evaluated.
Council member Micah Clausen motioned to approve the partial stipends for two months, which was seconded by Council member Rick Conklin and approved unanimously.
Council also took a moment to thank Roberts for her dedication while serving in two roles for the city.
"We'd like to thank you for everything you've done for the last eight months," Long said.
Roberts received applause from the entirety of council following this.
In other business, council:
-- Motioned, on first reading, the closure of a portion of Vesper Street on Sept. 12 and 13 from a request made by Uncle Albert's. Council will schedule a second reading to potentially approve the closure per its policy prior to its next regular meeting on Sept. 21. According to Roberts, the request is a rain date to make up for a previously approved closure in which the business was holding cornhole tournaments.