Todd Clark leaving for Beaufort

The Beaufort Board of Commissioners has selected Everette Todd Clark to serve as the next Town Manager. The Board voted to appoint Mr. Clark in their meeting on Monday, and he will

assume his new responsibilities following the retirement of current Town Manager John Day at the end of December.

“We are thrilled to welcome Todd Clark and his family to Beaufort,” said Mayor Rett Newton. “He has extensive experience as a town manager, strong leadership skills, and a track record of success. With Todd at the helm of our extraordinary Town staff, the future of Beaufort is very bright!”

“I am thankful to the Board of Commissioners for selecting me as the next Town

Manager,” said Clark. “I look forward to working with the Board, citizens and town staff to maintain the heritage and cultural values of the community. I’m excited to start working with all of our stakeholders to accomplish the Board’s comprehensive vision for the future.”

The Beaufort Town Manager is appointed by and works under the direction of the Mayor and five- member Board of Commissioners. He is responsible for a total budget of $16 million, plus capital funds, and 82 full-time employees.

Clark has served as City Manager in Newton, NC since 2007. He worked for two North Carolina counties early in his career,

before moving to municipal government as a planner for the Town of Boone. He served as Town Manager in Catawba for four years, and then as Town Manager in Maiden for three years before moving into his current city manager position.

Currently Clark serves on the Board of Directors of ElectriCities of North Carolina. He also serves as Chairman of Municipal Power Agency One, the bulk power supplier for 19 cities and towns in piedmont and western North Carolina that own and operate their electrical distribution systems. He has been actively involved in civic affairs in all of the communities where he has lived and worked.

Clark earned a bachelor’s degree in community and regional planning and a Master of Public Administration degree from Appalachian State University in Boone. He is an active member of the NC City/County Management Association and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

Clark is a native of Marion in western North Carolina, where his father served as a council member and mayor for 40 years. He and wife Jane currently live in Newton with their two sons, and will move to Beaufort next year.

Mercer Group Associates, a national public sector executive search and consulting firm with an office in Raleigh, assisted the Board with its search. The Board received 36 applications from several states, including 10 from North Carolina, and considered a number of well qualified candidates with extensive local government management experience. The current Board and the two newly elected commissioners interviewed five finalists. Mayor Newton said that the Board greatly appreciated the valuable input of citizens and Town department heads about the qualifications, experience, and characteristics that the Board should look for in the next manager. “We listened to the community and used those criteria as a guide in making our decisions,” he said.

“We are grateful for John Day’s extraordinary leadership as Town Manager, and we congratulate him on his forthcoming retirement,” said Newton. “Our new Town Manager will find that, despite the recent storms and a pandemic, our community is thriving but we clearly have some significant opportunities and challenges to address.”

Beaufort, a thriving town with a permanent population of 4,600, is situated on Beaufort Inlet. It is the county seat of Carteret County, and has been listed as “America’s Coolest Small Town” and the “#1 Small Town in the South.”