County Manager reflects on career – Washington Daily News

Long before Brian Alligood worked in local government, he worked for the North Carolina Department of Transportation for nearly four years. His departure followed a “disillusionment of politics,” he described. Years later; however, he was right in the middle of local politics as deputy county manager then county manager in Granville County,  city manager for the City of Washington and Beaufort county’s county manager. 

At the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners’ meeting on Sept. 8, Alligood announced that he would retire at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2026. 

Alligood has spent the better part of the last 30 years working in local government which he described as “interesting,” “fulfilling” and added that “there’s always something new.” 

Alligood started with Beaufort County in 2015 after serving two years as city manager in Washington. 

In the past, people have asked him which is better – being county manager or city manager? Alligood has a favorite, he said without naming it; however, he did say that the biggest difference between the two leadership positions is “relationship building.” 

All department heads within a city report to the city manager. Conversely, not all department heads report to the county manager like the sheriff, register of deeds and the school board which are elected positions though they are part of the county’s budget. 

Also, county managers work with departments that have ties to the state of North Carolina like the Department of Social Services and the Public Health Department. “There’s more relationships you have to work on and tinder and make sure that you look after…And I enjoy that piece of it.” 

Relationship building extends to county commissioners whom the county manager works at the direction of. County managers can make recommendations and suggestions based on information, insight and evidence; however, it’s up to commissioners to weigh what the manager presents to them and what their constituents want. 

While commissioners can make decisions based on politics, managers must remain neutral. “Our job is to play it down the middle without a left side or a right side. Our job is to provide clear  information and facts to the board as best we can so that they can make good, informed decisions,” Alligood said. 

When asked if it’s difficult to see commissioners not take his recommendation at times, Alligood said, “that’s where you’ve got to understand that you’re not the CEO of the organization. You’re not sitting at the top and you make all of the decisions. You’ve got a board that you work for, and they’re the ones who set the policy and they’re the ones that decide where they go.”  

Commissioner Frankie Waters told the Daily News, “Brian is a ‘people person’ great with county employees, taxpayers and commissioners.” 

Waters added that Alligood has “strong financial skills as noted in the county’s budget process each year which has resulted in the county’s strong financial condition.”

When asked about his accomplishments as county manager, Alligood mentioned stabilizing the county’s finances, first. The first audit presented to Alligood had 13 findings, he said. This audit reviewed the year prior to Alligood working for the county. With support from the commissioners and newly hired staff like Anita Radcliffe who works for the county today, the county was able to fix all of the financial issues it faced while keeping taxes low, he said. 

This year’s fiscal budget is $76.7 million which is a $19.9 million or 35.13% increase from the first budget he ever presented to commissioners ten years ago. When Alligood presented his first budget to commissioners for fiscal year 2016-2017, the county budget was $56.7 million. 

The cumulative inflation rate at that time was 36.30%; therefore, the county has stayed underneath the inflation rate. Beaufort County continues to have some of the lowest taxes in North Carolina, coming in at number 26 out of 100 counties, Alligood said. 

He added that Beaufort County is number 23 out of 100 counties for average daily membership spending which is about $2,820 per public school student. Last year, county commissioners and the local school board worked to acquire a $42 million capital improvement grant to build a new elementary school in Washington. That school will be Washington Elementary, home of the “Little Pack,” and is set to open next school year. Beaufort County was required by the state to provide a $10 million matching grant and was able to do so without going into debt which Alligood was “so proud of.” 

The county has also worked in recent years to provide funding so that school resources officers from Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office could re-enter public schools. In addition, the county partnered with Beaufort County Community College to provide students with a college education at no cost through Beaufort Promise and worked to provide a cost of living adjustment for county employees. Too, the county has made “generational” success by making access to broadband internet easier through the installation of fiber network cables. 

Waters noted that under Alligood’s leadership, “we have combined seven independent water districts into one operating system. This has corrected the cash flow to debt service audit findings and the Local Government Commission’s concerns. [Alligood] guided the county’s entry into the EMS line of service business. The county currently operates four EMS trucks located in Bath, Belhaven, Blounts Creek and Old Ford. [The county] converted the solid waste service to an enterprise budget where annual fees cover operating expenses. [The county is] near completion of two solid waste mega sites at 362 Stilley Station Road serving the southside and 2521 North Boyd Road serving the northside.” 

An unexpected challenge of being Beaufort County’s county manager was taking tax revenue and reconciling it into the local government’s financial system. Alligood said that when he started, there was one person doing that exclusively three days a week. In one year, Alligood and his team were able to automate that process using a computer software program. 

“We took someone who was spending three full days of their week doing that and we freed them up two-and-a-half days,” Alligood said. 

Challenges Alligood faced in the last ten years have included the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018).

No matter the department – emergency management or finance, Alligood said a success of the county has been to hire the right people. 

“What’s the analogy? You know, you put the right people on the bus, but then you get the right people in the right seat on the bus,” Alligood said. “And I think we’ve been able to do that with some really, really good folks that know their business. The biggest part of my job is supporting them and helping them get the resources they need to be successful.” 

Alligood said that after he retires from Beaufort County and local government, he plans to keep his options open and may look for opportunities in the consulting realm. Alligood has an engineering degree from NC State University and an emergency services degree from Western Carolina University.