Athens-Clarke County Unified Government Assistant Manager Josh Edwards has resigned as of March 27, 2024 to accept a position as the County Manager for York County, SC. York County is located on the North Carolina and South Carolina border near Charlotte, NC and includes nine municipalities and 282,000 residents as of the 2020 Census. His first day for York County is April 8, 2024. 

"Josh has been a valued Assistant Manager for Athens-Clarke County since he joined our office and has impacted ACCGov tremendously in his time here," said Manager Blaine Williams. "We're thrilled that he has had an opportunity to advance his career, but we will miss his data-aligned thinking, strategic planning skillset, and positive demeanor here. We all wish him and his family the best as he moves into this new role." 

Prior to joining Athens-Clarke County in 2019, Edwards served in public capacities as a budget analyst in Fairfax, Virginia, as a Senior Budget Analyst for Cary, NC, and as Strategic Initiatives Manager and Assistant Budget Director for the City of Durham, NC. While with Athens-Clarke County, Edwards was key in working with staff to develop data-based insights that led to Silver Certification in 2019 and 2023 from the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification. He also was instrumental in working with the Mayor and Commission to develop their three-year strategic initiatives and with staff across ACCGov on developing ACCGov's five core values of integrity, competence, collaboration, community, and each other. 

“It has been a privilege to serve Athens-Clarke County and ACCGov employees with Manager Williams and the dynamic team in the Manager’s Office,” said Edwards. “I am thankful for the opportunity to deliver many impactful projects for the community and in building data and strategic planning capacity throughout the organization.” 

Manager Williams and Assistant Manager Niki Jones will assume Edwards' duties and share oversight of his departments until a permanent replacement is named to fill the position after a national search.