ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County Government is prepared for the pending retirement of longtime Finance Officer R.M. “Mac” Steagall. Months after Steagall shared his expected retirement date of June 30, 2021, Richmond County has hired William “Cary” Garner Jr. as the next finance officer.
Steagall has served as Richmond County’s finance officer since September of 2004. For 17 years, he has been a dedicated worker, and an invaluable resource and asset to all of county government. We will benefit from his contributions long past his departure on June 30.
Garner accepted the County’s offer to serve as the next county finance officer. Mr. Garner will complete his current appointment as finance officer in Anson County on March 13 and transition to Richmond County shortly after. This timeline overlaps the tenure of Mr. Steagall for three months and permits Mr. Garner to be thoroughly introduced to the County’s operations, transition roles from the departing finance officer, build rapport with current staff, and participate in the budget preparation for Fiscal Year 2021-2022.
Garner is a native of Richmond County and a lifelong resident of Hamlet. He is a 1992 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte-Belk School of Business, with a Bachelor of Science: Business Administration, Concentration in Finance, Minor in Economics. He most recently serves as the finance director in Anson County. He is a certified N.C. Local Government Finance Officer through the UNC School of Government, a member of the N.C. Finance Office Association (2017-present), an advisory board member of the N.C. Capital Management Trust (2016-present) and a member of the North Carolina Local Government Investment Association (2019-present).
Garner summarizes his service with Anson as “a driver of change and improvement since Day One. Responsible for converting the first major software upgrade for Anson County Government in nearly 30 years to manage Payroll, Human Resources and Talent Management. Played a major role in converting to the State Health Plan which produced a net annual savings in excess of $600,000. Also led conversion to upgrade and implement Financial software that was in excess of 32 years old. Unassigned fund balance has increased by nearly 13 percentage points to nearly 49% increase of over 36%) since I have been here. Designed a budgeting system that promotes Department Head inclusion and can give instant oversight to the county manager during the budget development process. Team player that favors empowering department heads to take ownership and be a part of positive change. Developed strong statewide network of professionals in finance, investments, human resources, county and city management, budgeting, debt management, tax assessing and tax collection.”
County Manager Bryan Land shares, “The County is very fortunate to add to the team someone of the caliber and with the qualifications that Cary possesses. I look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead. The finance director is one of the most important positions within our organization and we welcome the contributions of Mr. Garner. Furthermore, I am always pleased when we can add one of our own homegrown talents to our organization. Our current finance director, Mac Steagall, is just one of the many examples of the success we have when we select from the talent available right here in our own community.”
