WINNSBORO – Fairfield County lost two more of its top tier employees to the Town of Winnsboro.
Chris Clausen, Planning and Community Development Director with the county resigned his position on Monday to be the assistant town manager with the Town of Winnsboro. Fairfield County Clerk to Council Patti Locklair Davis also resigned on Monday to take the position of Town Clerk at the Town of Winnsboro.
Clausen and Davis are the latest in a string of top Fairfield County government employees to leave the county under the current county council majority 4 that took over council the first of the year.
Others besides Clausen and Davis who have left the county in the last few months include County Attorney Tommy Morgan, County Administrator Jason Taylor, Assistant Administrator Laura Johnson, Parks and Recreation Director Russell Price and several mid-level employees.
Chris Clausen
Clausen, who has been with the county since January of 2018, will report to his new job as assistant town manager under his former boss at the county, Jason Taylor who will be the new town manager for the Town of Winnsboro effective July 9.
Clausen comes to the Town of Winnsboro with broad experience in planning for small to medium size organizations focused on rural and suburban development. In addition to managing the planning, building and zoning functions of the county as well as the development regulations and ensuring code compliance, Clausen was also charged with proactively seeking new community development initiatives with an increased utilization of grant funding.
Prior to coming to Fairfield County, Clausen was previously the Zoning Administrator for Chapin, where he oversaw the growth of several large development projects, initiated numerous updates to the planning and zoning ordinances and secured funding for several community development projects.
Clausen holds a Bachelor’s degree from Liberty University with a concentration in Business and two Master’s Degrees – one from the University of South Carolina (Master of Business Administration) and one from Clemson University (Master of City and Regional Planning.) He currently resides in Northeast Columbia with his wife Carla and their three children.
“I’m excited to have an asset like Chris coming over to the Town,” Taylor said, “and I’m looking forward to the developments he will bring to the residents of Fairfield.”
Patti Locklair Davis
Davis was hired by Fairfield County Council five years ago to be the clerk to council. She also resigned her position on Monday, effective July 2. Davis is leaving the county to begin work on July 6 as the new town clerk for the Town of Winnsboro, joining Clausen and Taylor. She will be replacing longtime Winnsboro Town Clerk Lorraine Abell who is retiring.
“I very much enjoyed working with Patti at the county and I look forward to continuing to work with her here at the Town,” Taylor said. “She’ll be a wonderful addition to the staff here.”