The Guilford County Board of Commissioners met on Friday afternoon, June 27, to hold a very rare special closed session to discuss a personnel issue and, when the board came out of that closed session, the commissioners voted unanimously to accept the retirement notice of Guilford County Manager Mike Halford.
Guilford County just adopted a new fiscal budget on June 19 and Halford did not appear at that time to be anywhere near ready to leave Guilford County government.
Board of Commissioners Chairman Skip Alston said Friday, in a prepared statement, “On behalf of the entire Board, I want to thank Mr. Halford for his service to the County. Having served as Manager since 2021, he has helped to support and guide the County’s progress toward our strategic goals. We certainly wish him well.”
The board had announced earlier in the week that it would hold a closed session on Friday afternoon at the Old Guilford County Courthouse at 301 W. Market St. in Greensboro to discuss a personnel matter. Following that discussion, the board unanimously voted to accept Halford’s retirement notice.
Alston also noted that, being due to a long-standing county practice and North Carolina personnel confidentiality laws, the commissioners will not comment on any additional personnel details.
He told the Rhino Times Friday that Halford had 31 years in county government so he would get his full retirement benefits.
Following the closed session, the board also voted to appoint Assistant County Manager Victor Isler as the interim county manager, effective immediately.
Alston told the Rhino Times that the board hasn’t yet decided whether a search will be needed to find a new manager.
Presumably that means that, if a search is not conducted, Isler will drop the “interim” from his title and lead the county from here on out.
Alston said that Halford had brought the county a long way over the last four years and that he felt Isler could be instrumental in taking the county to the next level.
However, again, it is not clear if Isler will end up as the county manager.
Over the past year, it has become evident that Alston and Halford have had tension between them. There have even been a few times when Alston has shown frustration with Halford in public meetings – for instance, when Alston said he did not feel Halford was moving fast enough with initiatives to address homelessness in the county.
The truth will set you free, but not before it hurts. I look forward to finding out the truth but doubt we will.
Nice job Scott.
Got tired of Alston’s BS
Good! Bye! Separting the Detention Officers’ and Deputies’ salaries was a bad decision, after fighting for so long to keep it equal. Again, bye!
Correct, and now no one is applying to be a Detention Officer. Applications only come in for deputies since they make more now. The jails are getting worse by the day.
Yeah, I’d say adios too! Now for the fun part of seeing how much money may be wasted on the national search type deals. I wonder if Skip has some golf buddy or dei canidate already chosen?
You jest surely. Skippy is getting his “yes” man with Victor Isler. There will be no search, there will be no job posting. Isler is Skippy’s man. Wait and see.
Isler isn’t qualified to be an assistant manager. His linked in profile is all for healthcare and its Social Work on top of it.
But he is qualified to be skips minion yes man. Also he’s black and a democrat.
Perfect fit for skip
Some of y’all really can’t handle the fact that there are POC out here who are not only smarter than you but also more successful. Isler is the assistant county manager — why on earth wouldn’t he step in as interim and maybe even land the top job? It’s wild how fast your tighty-whiteys get twisted when the “rules” don’t just protect the good ol’ boys club.
@Tiredofthebs, I wouldn’t say that. Some of us don’t care what race, color, creed, religion, social standing you are, where you’re from, who you’re grandfather, or father was, what side they fought on during the war, or what you had for breakfast. We only care about qualifications and merit. If any of us being critical of a POC somehow triggers you, maybe look beyond the skin on the mirror. By the way, there are many “C’s” and shades of color. Hell, Redd Foxx said “…all white folks look alike, its black folks thatbare all different colors, look around the room, there’s black walnut, burnt almond, chocolate, chocolate mocha, pecan, vanilla, yellow, mellow, light, bright, and damn near white.” We all bleed red & are pink in the middle. As many greats have said, racism will stop when we stop making an issue of it. It’s practically non-existent now other than from those who choose to harp on things they’ve never experienced for themselves.
Wtf does DEI candidate even mean? Do you mean qualified? Do you mean equally qualified? Because that’s what DEI protects.
Surely you jest. . . .DEI is just another way of requiring companies (and governments) to ensure they have the requisite number of white males, black males, Hispanic males, transgender males, etc., in their organizations.
Joe don’t bother responding, it’s just another example of the blind leading the blind in the liberal democrat world wanting all they can get without working for it.
Hey tiredofthebs, exactly what “good oleboys club” are you referring too. The only club that’s been around the county commissioners in the last 10+ years has been skip and his free spending minions. And just for fun I’ll tell you that I personally don’t wear tighty-whiteys. Wanna take a guess.
I’ll pass on the guess. As I’ve said before — and yes, that includes Skip — the county commissioners haven’t been working for the people of Guilford County. They’ve been far more interested in lining their own pockets and making sure they benefit first, not the residents they’re supposed to serve.
There’s more to this than meets the eye. What’s the scoop, Scott?
I’m working on it.
2 scoops for 1 @ mayberry’s on tuesdays. yum
Is it possible Mr. Halford became and/or had enough of being aware of the malfeasances reoccurring with our commissioners and decided to abruptly resign?
Fred,
You may be onto something sir.
I truly believe Mr. Halford had decided being the county manager while Skip was chair was just too much for him, not because of his work, but because Halford has personal and professional values, something which Skipper does not.
Unfortunately, the wrong person resigned. It should have been the Chairman and some of his “rubber stamp” board members.
This I agree with!
The fact that Halford was dismissed so abruptly suggests he “violated” the terms of his contract. Skippy wanted to be rid of Halford because Halford challenged Skippy’s desires, most likely involving schools, Woolworth Museum, and other favorites of Skippy. Therefore, a concocted excuse for firing him. I predict Victor Isler will be Skippy’s “yes” man.
how does ‘dismissed’ become ‘retired’ ?
My personal opinion, he found out about the gross negligence spending of skip and Danny Most people would call it, fraudulent.
It sees as though Victor Isler is a Democrat,
He’ll be permanent.
More problems around the corner……..
Yep bc Democrat = bad, unqualified people and Republicans good, Christian values…..GTFOH with this nonsense. People are inherently good or bad regardless of their political affiliation. The reach is astounding. And for the record, I’m unaffiliated. I vote for what is good for me and my community, not based on color or political party.
I don’t know what prompted the quick retirement but I will wager if Alston wanted him out his board would support whatever he said to do.
The interim Co Mgr Victor Isler will be the next Co Mgr. . . .why? He’s a minority, just what Skip wanted. See how this works?
Mike probably sees the writing on the wall with this Board and the s**t show all this spending will become in the next few years. 31 years of service and the last 4 at extremely high pay which will give him a nice monthly pension the rest of his life.
Can’t blame him, why stick around and put up with Skip?
Thank you Mike Halford for your years of service and hard work for our Guilford County. This has been a tough job. Best wishes to you.
ditto. i named my last three children ‘ditto’ – they don’t like it – bwaa ha ha
Where there is a lot of smoke there is normally a fire and we have an abundance of smoke…..Guilford’Country has not been run well in some time. STAY ON IT.
. . . voted to accept his retirement . . . what make them think they had a vote ? vote ‘no’ means slavery ? meaningless costly ritual – politician/preachers !
Will be interesting to read the real reason here, but there is a rough situation in Guilford County and after 31 years Michael Halford probably has decided his pension from a $278,000/year salary is enough to give him a nice retirement without getting blasted for a failing county, possible fraud or waste taking place being exposed, and increasing poor leadership decisions made by the Democrat Commissioners.
The Democrats have increased the county budget from about $630 million in 2020/21 to $847 million this coming year. That is quite an increase with decreasing federal funds available and a dangerous level of safety money left for a rainy day fund. (Less than 8% when it was at 16% under Republicans.) If a disaster hits our county, we are in serious trouble financially.
The Democrats, by pushing the hefty $2 billion school bonds ( some of the largest spend in the USA) have stuck Guilford County tax payers with about $1,3 billion in additional interest payments well into the future and they want to stick tax payers with possibly another $1 billion bond in the not too distant future with a shrinking number of students in traditional public schools that are performing horribly. (4 GCS are going to be closed due to low student enrollment.) Parents are moving their students to home schooling, private schooling with increasing Opportunity scholarships, and charter schools. Guilford County teacher attrition rates are at 18% and one of the worst among all peer school systems. Ask a teacher what discipline is like in GCS schools and how many non-English speaking students they have in their class. NC traditional public school in enrollment has decreased every year since 2016. Chronic student absenteeism is one in every three students for Guilford County public schools. The Democrat run school board is lost.
The number of folks in Guilford County on fixed incomes is increasing and they are getting stuck with these huge property tax increases at 27% on average in 2022 and possibly an 47% increase in 2026. The renters are also seeing hefty increases as those property taxes get passed thru to them. In 2022, Greensboro had the highest single bedroom rent increase in the nation at 74% per a WGHP report. Greensboro only has 53% of houses owned by those who live in them. The eviction rates in Guilford County are at 14% or 4th highest of all the 100 NC counties. Poverty rates are at 18%. The median household income is at $66K vs Wake county at about $100K vs Meck at $85K and yet Guilford pays $0.73/$100 in property tax vs Wake at $0.40/$100 vs Meck at $0.53/$100. Of the 3 largest counties in NC, Guilford with the lowest median household income, pays the highest property tax rate.
Guilford county had a 42% increase in the homeless population counts from 2023 to 2024. Guilford County has the highest number of foster children at 721 of any county in N.C. and the situation is not getting any better. There were 24 children taken in recently in one week in Guilford County.
I see first hand in our church food pantry the growing need in our community. This county is in rough shape financially and the load being placed on the backs of the property owners and renters is growing dramatically under the Democrat commissioners and school board leadership. We need a change folks in the 2025 local elections and in 2026. Vote conservatives because this Democrat crew is sinking this county ship fast and people like Michael Halford see what is taking place. (Look at how many are not running for re-election in the Greensboro city council races in 2025.)
The blacker Greensboro and Guilford County get, the greater the problems. Blacks continue to vote for Blacks only because they are Black.
Tell me you’re a racist POS without telling me you’re a racist POS
Do you consider yourself to be racist against anything. Asking for a friend.
You and “friend” are both ignorant.
Just say you agree with TermLimits and keep it moving. Oh, and tell your friend the same.
Why does racist equal a POS
You too, are quite ignorant.
Are you for real, Clark?
Tiredofthebs, do you think black people can be racist or just White people. Also you didn’t answer my question, are you racist against anyone or anything
Point Of Sale ?
Incisive and accurate comment. True too, sadly.
[ I’m wondering if you are an elected politician, “Jumping Ship”. ]
Concerned life long Guilford County resident who worked as an engineering manager at three of the largest companies in Guilford County. I am not an elected official. What is happening in our county by the Democrat “leadership” is just sad. People are suffering and the hole is being dug deeper by the Dems.
with that nice salary while working under a magnifying glass with aggressive politicians his entire career please provide motive & evidence of this ‘fraud’. what is slander ?
Look at what was written. “possible fraud or waste taking place being exposed” and it did not imply Michael Halford was the possible person responsible.
ok. i think the best teachers can just hang out a shingle & make good $$ with < overhead. people truly interested in EDU will find them & SCREW the rest !
The “Kingfish” brooks no dissent, eh what?
He’s the Robert Mugabe of Guilford County.
Thank you, Scott for the interesting article. I hope you will have an opportunity to interview Halford on his thoughts from his long career with the County. I would be interested in what, if anything, he has to say.
I bet Mr. Halford could open a can of worms on the expenditures of Guilford County, especially with Skips “Non-profit” friends and Danny Rodgers spending at the Sheriff’s Office. Thank you Mr. Halford for your years of conservative government work and I wish you enjoyment in your retirement or your next phase of work.
imagine an occupation where you need to purchase lawsuit insurance to participate. add doctors.