Valdese welcomes new town manager Todd Herms, 18 years experience

The Town of Valdese has a new town manager, William “Todd” Herms. Herms will begin his new role on Thursday, May 1.

The announcement came after a specially-called, closed-door, one-hour meeting with the Valdese Town Council on Friday morning.

Most recently, Herms, 46, was Alexander County Manager. Alexander County Commission Chairman Marty Pennell announced his resignation on April 22. He was hired for that role on Aug. 12, 2024. His annual salary in that position was $179,000.

During his nearly eight months in Alexander County, Herms supervised over 500 employees and managed a budget of $56.6 million.

Before being named manager of Alexander County, Herms was the Maiden Town Manager for 16 years beginning in July 2008 and Badin Town Manager for two years from 2006 to 2008.

Herms has over 18 years of town manager experience and has worked on major projects including:

• Design and construction of Maiden’s Town Hall, Police Department, and its Fire Station
• Recruitment of 2,350 jobs in data centers, automotive, and high-tech manufacturing
• Billion-dollar projects with Apple, Inc. and Microsoft’s Data Center

Herms is a Western Carolina University graduate with a master’s in public affairs and a Bachelor of Science in political science.

He also attended and completed:

• Municipal and County Administration Course and the Public Executive Leadership Academy (PELA) at the UNC School of Government
• Williamsburg Leadership Institute
• Gettysburg Leadership Institute

The council had contracted with the Western Piedmont Council of Governments to find the best candidate for the town manager position.

With his education, experience, and personal characteristics, the council had chosen Herms to guide their town.

Before joining the council in closed session, Herms chatted with Interim Town Manager Bo Weichel on the dynamics of the council and getting to know one another’s interests.

When council and Herms came out of closed session, Councilman Glenn Harvey made the motion to appointment Herms. After the unanimous vote, all council members congratulated Herms on being their next town manager.

Details of his contract and his salary were not released on Friday morning.

“I’m truly honored for the opportunity to serve Valdese,” Herms said. “This is a special place, and I feel incredibly fortunate to join a dedicated group of elected officials and committed staff members. It’s a great community with an amazing story to tell.”

Mayor Charlie Watts said the town is excited for Herms to be the next town manager.

“The council went through a lengthy, time-consuming search. I compliment them on their due diligence. We traveled down that path to get us the perfect town manager,” Mayor Charlie Watts said after the big news.

“He is a manager with a great reputation among his peers in the state,” Watts continued. “His experience and knowledge will directly contribute to the projects and opportunities for the town. His successful track record of economic development, as well as his utility and construction management experience, stood out as examples of how he will help the town.”

The town has been without a permanent town manager for more than 16 months, with the dismissal of town manager Seth Eckard on Dec. 1, 2023. Eddie Perrou was the interim town manager for about a month, followed by former Burke County manager Bryan Steen on Jan. 2, 2024. The interim role then fell into the lap of Assistant Town Manager Bo Weichel. He’s held the mantle since Aug. 23, 2024.