Longtime city manager set to leave Kinston

By Bryan Hanks
Special to Neuse News

Hometown: Apex

Age: 44

Family: Wife, Kelly (Allen) Sears; children, Trevor (18), Tyler (16)

Education highlights: Undergraduate (2000) and Master of Public Administration (2002), Appalachian State University; Public Executive Leadership Academy, UNC Chapel Hill School of Government (2010); Harvard Senior Executive in State and Local Government (2016)

For the first time in nearly a decade, the city of Kinston is looking for a city manager.

During closed session of Tuesday’s regular meeting, City Manager Tony Sears tendered his resignation to the Kinston City Council; his final day in the position will be Aug. 17. He has accepted the deputy city manager position for the City of Wilson.

Sears said he decided to accept the job in Wilson because of its similarities to Kinston.

“They’re larger; they do a lot of the things we do here in Kinston but just more of it,” Sears said. “I think my skillset will fit in well there.”

Kinston Mayor Don Hardy said he was surprised when Sears made the announcement to city council Tuesday night.

“I was definitely caught off guard,” Hardy said. “But everybody deserves great opportunities. Tony is doing something to better himself and his family and I’m appreciative of that.”

Kinston Mayor Pro Tem Felicia Solomon said she admired the service Sears has given to Kinston.

“Tony has been a positive asset for the city of Kinston,” Solomon said. “There have been some great things that have been accomplished while he has been in the role as our city manager.”

His hiring

Sears assumed his position with the City of Kinston on Nov. 2, 2011, replacing interim city manager Bill Ellis; Ellis was in the interim position following former city manager Scott Stevens’ move to Goldsboro to become that city’s manager.

Approximately 40 candidates threw their hats in the ring following Stevens’ resignation in 2011; the mayor at the time — now, Neuse News Publisher and Owner, B.J. Murphy — said he leaned heavily on the city attorney and a subcommittee that had been formed to narrow down the candidates.

When Sears was hired, the final interviews of the four or so candidates were held outside of City Hall, Murphy said.

“Tony really stood out,” Murphy said. “He was really young … and really bold, you could tell that. He had worked on some really large water and sewer projects at that time.

“His boldness stood out, his experience stood out and his ability to manage a budget and an organization stood out. The culture he had created in previous communities, we wanted to bring that culture to our city hall, public services, police department and fire stations.”

Murphy continued, “On paper, he wasn’t in the top two candidates. But when you met him, though, he absolutely stood out.”

Murphy has had a unique relationship over the years with Sears; not only did the former mayor hire Sears but when Murphy left office in 2017, he has covered Sears and the city with Neuse News.

“From a professional standpoint, I can say he’s always been very respectful, very honest, very open and very candid,” Murphy said of Sears. “Most importantly, he’s been very fair with us and with other news outlets.”

Sears, who was the city manager of Randleman before coming to Lenoir County, said he was intrigued by the possibility of coming to Kinston when he interviewed with Murphy and the city council in 2011.

“I was hoping they’d give me the keys; for some reason, they thought I was a good fit for (Kinston) and I was grateful for that,” Sears said. “I can’t be thankful enough for the opportunity they gave me here.”

Sears said before coming here he knew Kinston — and other Eastern North Carolina cities for that matter — faced economic and flooding challenges but that he was excited for the challenge when he accepted the position.

“I don’t know who created the phrase ‘Kinston Tough,’ but it’s definitely a mindset for this community,” Sears said. “When you get here and get immersed in it, you can’t help but be involved in this community.”

His accomplishments

Sears said he is proud of all Kinston has accomplished in his tenure in the city manager’s office but there are a few things that stand out — lowering power rates and improving the city’s power infrastructure for the city’s residents is one and working for the city’s employees’ health insurance is another.

As for the latter, he said, “While it’s stabilized the budget number — although that’s not what I care about — the benefit we’re giving our employees now with Teladoc is important to me. In the city of Kinston, we can’t always give raises but this was something we could do that was of significant value to our employees.”

Sears — along with Murphy and Ellis — was also integral in the process of bringing the Down East Wood Ducks to Kinston in 2017; the city had been without professional baseball after the Kinston Indians left in 2011.

“It was such a positive economic impact for the (Wood Ducks) to come here, but I think Bill Ellis, B.J. and the city council had a lot more to do with it,” Sears said. “They did a lot more of the heavy lifting and I was just the technical guy putting it all together.”

His impact

Hardy said Sears has meant a lot to Kinston.

“He’s done a lot of great things for Kinston,” Hardy said. “Tony is a very competitive person and that was a good thing for our city. He moved the needle forward for us and was a great asset for the city of Kinston.”

Murphy agreed with Hardy.

“Losing Tony is going to be a huge loss to our community because he’s spearheaded projects like the Queen Street rehab project that has left our city in an incredible path for future growth,” Murphy said. “He’s had great relationships with our economic development teams in the county and the Global TransPark and has been instrumental in the highway and road improvements in our community.

“The things Tony has done here in Kinston will have impacts for decades to come.”

Solomon said what set Sears apart was his ability to attract talent to Kinston.

“His ability to work with recruiters in bringing in top-notch heads of departments is stellar,” she said. “He did an outstanding job in hiring our parks and recreation director, our fire chief and other positions. Tony has done an exceptional job in bringing talent here.”

What’s next for Kinston?

Only a little more than 12 hours after Sears made his announcement to the mayor and city council, they were ready to start the arduous process of finding his replacement.

“We’ll slow-walk this and figure out what’s best for the city,” Hardy said. “For now, we need to find an interim city manager.”

Solomon concurred with the mayor; she said the interim position wouldn’t necessarily have to come within the city, although the council will consider internal candidates.

“Time is of the essence,” Solomon said. “We have to find our interim city manager; that’s our first step. We’ll advertise and post the position; we’ll find an agency or firm to partner with to replace Mr. Sears.”

However, the city manager seat is not the only position the mayor and city council are having to hire; they are also searching for a police chief, among other key positions.

“There is a lot going on right now, I can promise you that,” Hardy said.

‘I’ll forever be indebted to them’

Sears has two more months left in Kinston and said he still has goals to accomplish in that time.

“I want to make sure this organization continues to be stable and to help the council in any way that I can,” he said. “I want my departure and this transition to be seamless and unnoticeable.”

Sears said he will always look back on his tenure in Kinston with pride.

“I really tried my best while I was here,” Sears said. “I deeply care about Kinston and I care about what’s going to happen here for the next 10 and 20 years.”

Sears said he was sincerely appreciative to the ones who hired him 10 years ago.

“I really want to give a special thanks to Mayor Murphy, Mayor Pro Tem (Joseph) Tyson, Alice Tingle, Bobby Merritt and Robbie Swinson for giving me this opportunity to prove I could do the job here in Kinston,” he said. “I’ll forever be indebted to them.”