NATCHEZ, Miss. — Adams County supervisors voted out Angie King as their chief administrator Tuesday for reasons vaguely explained to the public.
“I am not allowed to share this information that has been brought to all board members during previous executive sessions” closed to the public, said Supervisor Angela Hutchins.
As the five-member county board held its first meeting of the new year, supervisors voted 3-2 not to reappoint King, who’s been county administrator since October 2020. She was previously Adams County comptroller before supervisors appointed her to replace long-serving county administrator Joe Murray.
Hutchins was a pivotal vote as she joined board members Wes Middleton and Kevin Wilson in ousting King. Hutchins said she was able to “make a definitive decision” but declined to publicly cite reasons for voting against King.
Middleton was also hesitant to publicly say why King should not be reappointed, but he noted “personnel issues” related to her performance as county administrator persisted “to prohibit us from moving forward as a board.”
King was seated in her usual seat at the county board table as supervisors voted not to reappoint her. She swiftly left the room without saying anything.
Voting to reappoint King were Supervisors Warren Gaines and Ricky Gray.
Gaines said he didn’t expect Tuesday’s “shake up” or understand what prompted fellow board members to dismiss King.
“At any rate, we’re going to move forward,” Gaines said as the supervisors agreed to seek someone to replace King. They set a Jan. 17 deadline for prospects to apply for the job.
As administrator, King oversaw the daily operations of Adams County government, including an annual budget of about $30 million with about 250 employees under the governance of the five-member county Board of Supervisors.
In the interim, Adams County Chancery Clerk Brandi Lewis will act as county administrator along with her other duties, which include administering chancery court and being county board secretary.
Gray noted King had been overwhelmed with work — performing duties that should be assigned to other staffers to manage personnel and the payment of bills. “Ain’t nobody perfect. People make mistakes,” Gray said.
The board increased King’s salary last April to $110,000 a year as she took on more financial duties since the board wasn’t able to find someone to hire as county comptroller to manage the county’s payroll along with bills to be paid and money to be collected.
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The Adams County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday appointed Natchez attorney Tony Heidelberg to serve as county prosecutor to replace Carmen Brooks Drake, who took office last week as Adams County circuit judge after being elected last November.
Drake had been the county’s prosecuting attorney since 2019. Heidelberg – who has been a Natchez Municipal Court judge in past years – was among six attorneys interested in taking Drake’s place for the rest of the term through 2023. Supervisors closed the public out of their discussions deciding who to appoint as county prosecutor.
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