SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — All except two legislators voted to keep Joshua Potosek on as Sullivan County manager.

Cat Scott (D-5) and chair Nadia Rajsz (D-2) voted against the motion. 

Rajsz said her vote was not about Potosek’s performance as a county manager but only about the contract. “The terms are just not what I’m looking for, but he is,” Rajsz said before the vote.

Legislator Amanda Ward (R-8) thanked Potosek for staying on and promised that the legislature would improve the hiring and review process that Potosek had gone through. 

“I hope to be a part of a board that will support you and provide guidance and sound evaluations so you know what expectations are and ensure, moving forward, the evaluation process will be professional,” Ward said. “We will have a process in place so things happen in the right order. I know there was talk of shout advertising, but we had already started the evaluation process. In the future we will have a process in place.”

The legislature did not advertise to recruit new candidates for the position. 

“Some people thought we should have gone out as advertised,” said Legislator Joseph Perrello (R-7). He said he appreciated working with someone who already knew the job.

“You have differences,” Perrello said, you guide people “in the direction you want them to go with, and you get a better package when you do that,” Perrello said. “Instead of looking for someone new and you have a bomb, we know what we have. Josh is a very good county manager.”

Potosek has been the county manager since March 2013. He first served as acting county manager upon replacing David Fanslau, who entered into a separation agreement with the county on March 2, 2013. Before becoming county manager, Potosek held other management positions in Sullivan County for almost 20 years, including deputy county manager and commissioner of management and budget from 2007 to 2013.