Warren County’s Port commissioners could soon be moving ahead with hiring a search firm to help them find a new economic/port director.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve a $40,000-plus contract between the port commission and Jorgenson Consulting of Greensboro, N.C., to assist with the search. The port has been without a port director since August when Wayne Mansfield left to take an economic development agency job in Longview, Texas.

Supervisors reviewed the contract at a work session Oct. 11.

“The way the port commission and the board of supervisors interact is if they enter into a contract, the board of supervisors has got to bless it. We’re a co-signer,” county administrator John Smith said. 

The port commission in September voted to hire Jorgenson to help with the search for a new director. Port commission president Margaret Gilmer said at the time Jorgenson will do the initial screening and background checks of prospective candidates, and the commission will be involved with the interviews.

She said the target goal is to have a director hired within 8 to 12 weeks once the contract is signed.

The contract caps communication costs at $1,050 and background checks on potential candidates at two for a maximum of $350 each.

Also, the firm’s advertising will most likely be limited to two publications at a fee of $500 each, board attorney Blake Teller said at the work session.

In other action, the board:

• Authorize Chancery Clerk Donna Farris Harry to the transfer of $221.12 from her account to the county’s general fund. The money is overpayment to former Circuit Clerk Shelly Ashley-Palmertree’s retirement account.

• Formally approve the county-wide burn ban issued Oct. 6.