News

Brantley's departure on June 30 leads to county reorg at the top

By Bill Moss, Published: May 19, 2024

The imminent retirement of Assistant County Manager Amy Brantley on June 30 presented Henderson County Manager John Mitchell the opportunity for a reorganization of the county’s executive level.

Mitchell has named a new assistant county manager and new finance director and created a new position coordinating emergency services, public health and welfare.

Christopher Todd, the director of business and community services, is the new assistant county manager and Samantha Reynolds is promoted to financial services director. Jimmy Brissie becomes director of public safety, a new position that adds public health, social services and information technology to his current role as director of emergency services.

“Each one of these individuals has a proven track record," Mitchell said. "I would stand up the competence and drive and leadership of these people against anyone in the state.”

A former Henderson County planner, Todd was Laurel Park town manager when Mitchell recruited him to the county's executive team. His current job is the same one Mitchell held before the Board of Commissioners appointed him to succeed Steve Wyatt as county manager three years ago. Todd's job description might best be described as the tip of the spear for anything the county is undertaking that is big and expensive — the Ecusta Trail and the $154 million courthouse-jail expansion are two examples — and the county’s diplomat when disruptive zoning applications provoke neighborhood uprisings.

“He's gonna keep his current book of business,” Mitchell said. “He's got a level of expertise there, he's very good with citizens and can carry the regulatory side of the house.”

Known for her Texas-lights-out-steel-cage mastery of finance minutia, Brantley was the creator and enforcer of budget precision — from the cost of paper towels to long-range debt service forecasts. She trained her newly named successor.

“Samantha Reynolds has been acquiring those certifications over the years,” Mitchell said. “She's been certified by the state, she's got a real depth of experience in finance, she's a CPA and even better in my opinion she's homegrown.”

Brissie adds three more departments to an overall management umbrella that covers safety, health and welfare — public health, social services and information technology.

“His title will change to public safety director but he will retain the general statute title of emergency services director as well,” Mitchell said. “Jimmy's role will be as a liaison to those departments. I've also given him information technology as well because frankly the public’s interaction with local government is getting more and more IT-driven every day. When something goes wrong in the community, people most of the time go to the internet to try and figure out what's happening.”