Writer: Alexander Popp
Published December 13, 2022
Forsyth Herald
Assistant County Manager David McKee was officially named county manager by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners at a special called meeting Dec. 9.
McKee will assume his new role Dec. 16, following the departure of Kevin Tanner.
One of two finalists chosen for the role, McKee has served as assistant county manager since April 2021, overseeing the operations of county engineering, recycling and solid waste, fleet services, water and sewer, public transportation and public facilities departments.
“David brings a wealth of leadership qualities and understanding of the county’s needs to the position,” said District 2 Commissioner Alfred John. “The board looks forward to working with him in his new role.”
Prior to joining Forsyth County in 2021, McKee served in various roles in Dawson County since 2006, working in environmental compliance, engineering, GIS and planning. He also served as Dawson County Public Works Director and SPLOST Administrator.
McKee holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Georgia Southern University and an Advanced Certificate of Public Works Management from the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government and American Public Works Association.
McKee said he is humbled and excited to continue projects to make Forsyth County “the best county in the state of Georgia.”
“One of the things that we are we are going to continue to build on is changing the culture of our employees,” he said. “We look at every project that we do, every department that we have an opening for, we're trying to improve the culture, both from a customer service level, all the way down to interactions with other staff.”
One of McKee’s first priorities will be to finalize the county’s local option sales tax agreement with the City of Cumming. He said with the recent failure of the proposed Transportation Local Option Sales Tax, which was voted down by residents in November, getting the 2023 LOST across the finish line is all the more important.
“We still have the same issues today that we had before TSPLOST,” he said. “The issue is, we just have to squeeze our dollar tighter than what we did before.”
Tanner, who announced his departure in mid-November, will become commissioner of the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Dec. 16, succeeding the retired Judy Fitzgerald.
