SILER CITY — In a short Monday meeting, commissioners unanimously approved a contract for an interim town manager following manager Roy Lynch’s resignation in January.
William “Bill” A. Zell of Aberdeen will come to Siler City to fill in as the town manager until the town hires a full-time manager. Zell worked as the town manager for Aberdeen, according to his LinkedIn page.
The contract states Zell will work for $50 per hour and no more than 30 hours per week; he won’t be paid benefits.
Zell will work for Siler City starting on March 21, where he will shadow Lynch for a week before Lynch takes a new position with Chatham County.
Lynch also announced an end to the mask mandate in Siler City town facilities. This comes after Gov. Roy Cooper urged for municipal governments and schools to lift mandates as a shift toward a post-pandemic world.
“We do still recommend that those who want to wear them to continue to do that, but we have lifted that policy,” Lynch told the board.
Lynch also alerted the board about the town’s cemetery and the status of available plots.
“Last week, we did sell the final cemetery plot that was available, so the town no longer has any available,” he said.
Because of this, the town will not include revenue from cemetery land sales into its 2022 budget.
Mayor Pro Tem Chip Price said Siler City needs to communicate that to churches in the area who utilize the town’s burial grounds.
“We need to let churches know that there are none available, and I think that may solve a few problems going forward,” Price said.