Gwinnett Co. Administrator Notes Retirement

Gwinnett County Administrator Jock Connell has announced he will retire at the end of the year.

First hired in 1986 to oversee the County’s risk management section, Connell briefly left the county to work in the private sector. Recruited back to Gwinnett County to become Assistant Finance Director in 1994, Connell was promoted in 1995 as Finance Director. In 2000, he was appointed as the county’s first Deputy County Administrator. In 2005, the Board of Commissioners named him County Administrator.

Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said, “Throughout his career here, Jock has been a part of the core management team that has guided the county through its most dynamic and challenging period of growth and to a solid triple AAA bond rating. We will miss him.” Glenn Stephens, current director of the County’s Planning and Development Department, has been selected as Connell’s replacement.

Already set to retire in 2010, Connell approached the Board of Commissioners with his new intentions earlier this summer. Connell said, “In a perfect world, the County would have already resolved its solid waste issues, service delivery negotiations with cities, and several other major issues that will play out over the next 18 months. For the good of the organization, I believe the next County Administrator needs to be involved in the resolution of these matters in order to effectively manage the results. I will work closely with Glenn in the coming months to ensure an orderly transition.”

Connell will not accept any of the retirement incentives being offered to other county employees as a part of the current effort to reduce the county’s workforce. His retirement will closely follow those of Deputy County Administrator Mike Comer and Assistant County Administrator Lisa Johnsa. However, most of the county’s senior management will remain intact.

Among the many accomplishments during Connell’s five years as County Administrator, Gwinnett County maintained its triple AAA bond rating, implemented a new stormwater utility, opened 12 new parks, renovated or expanded 17 parks, opened two new libraries, opened five new fire stations and relocated another five stations. The County also added 522 police officers and sheriff’s deputies, opened three police precincts, resurfaced 375 miles of roads, widened several major roads, began construction of the Sugarloaf Parkway extension, and partnered with the state to widen SR 20 and SR 120 and complete the new I-85/316 intersection in this period. Laying the groundwork for future generations during this period, Gwinnett County also adopted the Unified Plan and secured a permit from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to return 40 million gallons of highly-treated wastewater from the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center back to its source at Lake Lanier.

Connell said, “I have been truly blessed to be able to serve Gwinnett County in this capacity. It has been the opportunity of a lifetime. I will be forever grateful to the commissioners I’ve served, past and present, as well as former County Administrator Charlotte Nash. I’m humbled by their support and the trust they placed in me. “I’m thankful, too, for the support from our exceptional staff, our community leaders and the citizens of Gwinnett County. Gwinnett County will be in good hands. Glenn Stephens is knowledgeable and hard-working, and he has remarkable integrity. He also inherits a solid management team in our department directors and their senior staff. Glenn is certain to put his own touch on the management of the county and the county management team.”