Murry ending decade-long stint as Adams County administrator

NATCHEZ. Miss. – Adams County Administrator Joe Murray is retiring after serving nearly 30 years in government service.

“It’s time to do something else. I’ve got other options,” said Murray, who previously worked for the state Department of Revenue before becoming Adams County administrator in 2010.

He’ll stay for a couple of more months while the Board of Supervisors looks for a replacement. “It’s not going to be an easy task. Joe has got a lot of knowledge of what’s going on in county government,” said county board President Ricky Gray.

Murray was hired by the board as county administrator in 2010 but left briefly and returned in 2011. He’s been overseeing the daily operations of county government, including a $30 million annual budget and about 230 employees under the governance of the five-member county Board of Supervisors.

The board on Monday decided to begin the search for a new administrator with hopes one will be hired to work under Murray’s tutelage before he formally retires in September, Gray said.

Murray, who turns 54 this year, has worked long enough with 30 years in government to receive a full pension from Mississippi’s public retirement program. He said his work is enjoyable, but it requires long days that are wearing on him.

Three new county supervisors took office in January after unseating incumbents,  but Murray said he’s been pondering retirement for a couple of years. “It’s not a knee-jerk decision. I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” he said.

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The Board of Supervisors on Monday ended the night-time curfew that’s been in place for Natchez-Adams County since March, when the coronavirus pandemic flared up. The curfew had limited people’s public outings on city/county streets and roads between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. While people couldn’t be wandering or gathering together outside after 11 p.m., they were allowed to travel to and from legally operating businesses, including Magnolia Bluffs Casino and other Natchez-Adams County nightspots.

The local curfew began in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus and was not precipitated by the protests that have erupted in recent weeks throughout the country.

County Emergency Management Director Brad Bradford reported most of Adams County’s “active” COVID-19 cases are in the private Adams County Correctional Center. Of the 18 people in Adams County currently sickened by the coronavirus, 15 are in the prison, Bradford told the Board of Supervisors. The 2,232-bed facility, located about 12 miles from Natchez, holds refugees detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

All total, Adams County has had 226 residents sickened by the contagious respiratory disease and 17 die from it since March, according to the state Department of Health’s latest statistics Monday. That’s up from two weeks ago, when 15 people were confirmed to have died among the 200 Adams County residents confirmed to have been infected.

Health Department statistics show 10 of those who’ve died were in Adams County nursing homes. Of the 226 total in Adams County confirmed to have been sickened by the coronavirus, 139 are black, 55 are white and the rest are other races or unknown.

Bradford, who’s been helping manage the local response to the contagion, said Adams County’s rate of infection is not as severe as other areas. “Our numbers are doing great . . . compared to other counties,” he said.

However, he stressed people should continue to wear masks in public, limit person-to-person contact, avoid large crowds and wash hands frequently. “The time now is not to get complacent,” he said.

Mississippi Health Officer Thomas Dobbs expressed concerns about more COVID-19 cases stirred by the increased interaction of people since the state’s stay-at-home directives have been lifted. “It’s likely to get worse in the future,” Dobbs said Monday at his daily public briefing with Gov. Tate Reeves.