May 15--Botetourt County's emergency services director has resigned after a year and a week on the job.
Carr Boyd said he submitted his resignation Tuesday and will work through the end of the month. He declined to comment on his reasons or any circumstances surrounding his decision.
Botetourt County Administrator Kathleen Guzi could not be reached for comment as of 9:30 a.m. today.
Boyd's tenure was fraught with discord.
A former captain and acting battalion chief with the fire department in Charlotte, N.C., Boyd was the first to head the county's new department of emergency services. Created by unanimous vote of the board of supervisors, it combined into one department all existing fire and emergency medical services, volunteers and paid staff, and created the new post of emergency services director. Boyd's salary was $70,000.
Volunteers in particular seemed to chafe under Boyd's presence. Some volunteer chiefs objected to one provision of the job, a provision that the director has the authority to take over direction of an emergency situation from the first responders. As recently as March, David Bush, volunteer captain of Fincastle Rescue Squad, referred to life under the new department as a "dictatorship."
Boyd, who is married and has three children, said his future plans are unclear, including whether he'll stay in the area or return to North Carolina.
"We don't know what we're going to do," he said.
Copyright 2013 - The Roanoke Times, Va.
