Fewer people interested in civil service jobs

Morganton Public Safety Chief Jason Whisnant is the latest in a list of 20 City of Morganton employees who have retired in the past two years. Another 37 people will have the right combination of age and years of service to retire in the next three years.

Among those eligible are City Manager Sally Sandy and Cultural and Creative Development Director Sharon Jablonski, who each has more than 30 years of experience. Both have previously said retirement isn’t imminent.

Council meeting agendas routinely feature staff members being recognized with service pins for 20, 25, or 30 years. Retirement resolutions have been read and farewell speeches given. These employees represent departments as wide-ranging as Water Resources, Electric, Public Safety, Finance, and Public Works.

Long-standing employees leaving the City’s workforce can leave a gap in institutional knowledge and wisdom. Some roles were quick to fill, while others took more than a year.

In May 2024, Senior Reporter Marty Queen interviewed Sandy and County Manager Brian Epley about the retirement wave in Burke County. Sandy seemed unanxious about the departures.

“One box on the organizational chart does not equal one person,” Sandy said at the time. “We call it doing what it takes to get the job done. … In my 30-plus years, there has always been someone willing to step in and fill the gaps and make it work for the period of time we need it to work.”

Officials have not identified a succession plan publicly. The City did not respond to requests for the overall turnover rate, a department-by-department breakdown of potential upcoming retirements, or which current vacancies exist due to a retirement.

They did share some statistics.

RETIREMENT LANDSCAPE

The City averages around nine retirements per year and ranges between seven and 12 individuals, said Rus Scherer, director of human resources.

“This is about half of the people who are actually eligible for retirement with full benefits,” Scherer said. “Many people continue to work well after they meet the eligibility threshold, so it’s hard to say exactly when someone would be retiring unless they share that. It’s a personal decision, so they may say they’re going to retire and then continue to work.”

Currently, Scherer said 22 people are eligible to retire in the next year. In the next three years, 37 employees will be eligible.

For context, Public Information Officer Jonelle Sigmon reported in January 2025 that the City has a workforce of 599 employees — 294 full-time, 299 part-time, and six part-time permanent employees (City Council and Community House staff).

FILLING POSITIONS

According to the state Human Resources Director Staci Meyer, a fifth of state government jobs are vacant. Jobs remain vacant 180 days on average.

In Morganton, Scherer said the vacancy rate is difficult to identify.

“Time to fill positions varies so widely — we were looking for a planner for over a year the last time we recruited for one; it took seven weeks most recently,” Scherer explained.

The planner position sat vacant for about a year. During the search, Scherer explained some candidates have set their sights on larger municipalities or private companies.

“What I’m seeing from talking to my peers, other HR directors, is they have had struggles with these positions as well,” he previously said. “From talking to a lot of people, what I’m seeing is a lot of planners, when they’re coming out of school, they’re talking about going to a big city, with the idea there are more things happening and they’ll get more exposure.”

The planner who was eventually hired stayed on the job for less than six months. The slot fortunately only took about five months to fill the next time. Shelley Stevens was hired in February (see related story on Page 3A).

When City Attorney Louis Vinay announced his September retirement in the spring of 2024, the search for his replacement — Keith Rigsbee — took about five months. In Human Resources, former Benefits Administrator Kathy Anthony retired at the beginning of March, with successor Sharley Mendoza stepping in the same month.

Scherer said that fewer people are interested in certain career fields and more are interested in remote work, not on-site, which is typically required in government roles. The private sector is also a strong pull on the talent pool.

The career platform for the Gen Z workforce, Handshake, surveyed the Class of 2024 from August to March 2024, regarding career trends. About 7.4% of job applications on the platform were submitted to government roles, while 2023 graduates stood at 5.5% of applications.

“We are always in a state of evaluating current employees’ potential, looking at what opportunities and development they need to prepare for the future,” Scherer said, when asked about how the City prepares, “and what the particular issues the City will be facing going forward, and what skills and abilities are needed for tomorrow.”