Hart Co. Administrator Takes His Leave

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia

After 15 years on the job in Hart County, County Administrator Jon Caime is on to new opportunities in his home state.

Caime’s last day in Hart County was last Wednesday.

He is taking a new position as County Administrator for Laurens County, South Carolina.

Caime, who lives in Seneca, South Carolina, says he plans to move to Laurens County with his family.

Caime announced his resignation in March, but has stayed on longer in Hart County than originally planned in order to help interim administrator Terrell Partain get familiar with the office and to help move several projects forward.

Caime started with Hart County in 2003 and said he hadn’t initially planned to stay as long as he has.

“I never in my life thought I would work in public service,” Caime recalled. “I came up through the private sector and fell in love with public service. When the opportunity in Oconee County, SC was coming to an end, this project came up. They had some things they wanted fixed. I thought it would take about two years, but it took a little more than a year.”

Then, the previous Hart County Administrator announced his retirement and Caime said he asked for the chance to do the job.

“I told them I would do this job and continue my other job in parallel with the new job and it’s been a wonderful opportunity ever since,” he said.

Since Caime took office as the County Administrator, Hart County has undergone a tremendous economic transformation that is still continuing.

Caime said working with Commissioners and County staff, they have transformed Hart County into a viable economic community.

“It was a total team effort. There’s nothing that was done that was mine and mine alone,” Caime asserted. “We went from a 14.3 percent unemployment rate to a 5.5 percent unemployment rate. We brought back a thousands of good paying jobs and you can see the progress up at the Interstate. The focus on workforce development education is now rooted and grounded in Hart County, which will propel us in the future to be a leader; definitely in the region and probably in the State.”

Some of those projects include the expansion of the Gateway and Gateway II and III Industrial Parks and the new Hart County Recreation Center, along with the expansion of countywide water service, and the expansion of the volunteer fire department, which lowered most of Hart County’s ISO rating down from 10 to 4.

While Caime believes his transition to Laurens County is the right move, he said he will miss what he calls his Hart County family.

“It’s bittersweet, definitely,” Caime concluded. “I’m going to miss everybody. I feel like I’m going off to college in a foreign country and I’m leaving my family here behind. I love the people here, great people, great community, but I feel as though it’s part of God’s plan, I really do.”

In Laurens County, Caime is replacing retiring administrator Ernie Segars.