County commissioners will meet today (July 31) at 4 p.m. to discuss a replacement for Finance Director Lacie Jacobs, who resigned Tuesday.
The meeting will be held in the commissioners chambers in the county office building on Webster Street in Whiteville.
Jacobs abruptly left the county post at 3:40 p.m. after a meeting with County Manager Eddie Madden. The topic of the meeting has not been made public. She has been with the county since November 2022, according to her LinkedIn page. Prior to that, she was chief operating officer and vice president of administrative services at Southeastern Community College.
Grants administrator Tess Norris also submitted her resignation Wednesday morning (today), Madden said. She was hired by the county in June 2023.
“No other resignations have been received and we are not expecting any further resignations in the finance department,” Madden said in an email.
Commissioners were critical of Jacobs after she asked the board for more than $2 million in budget amendments to make up for a shortfall based on slower than anticipated growth in the county this year. Last year’s growth did not meet the anticipated five percent based on new home builds and businesses. Projections for Fiscal 2024 call for seven percent growth in the county.
The names of Tess Norris and Jacobs were immediately removed from the county website. Deputy Finance Director Heather Woody is running the department until an interim director is named.
