Forsyth names new county manager

Eric Johnson will be joining Forsyth County as the county manager in early September. Contributed by Forsyth County

Eric Johnson will be joining Forsyth County as the county manager in early September. Contributed by Forsyth County

A new top executive for Forsyth County will take over Sept. 5. Eric Johnson was confirmed for the job of county manager at the most recent Board of Commissioners meeting. Johnson said that he was excited to be joining Forsyth County, and was looking forward to managing challenges and seizing opportunities.

County officials said Johnson has 30 years experience in county government, most recently as assistant county administrator for Hillsborough County, Florida. He’d also served the county in several other roles including strategic planning director and director of management and budget. He holds a master of public administration degree from the University of South Florida.

The county manager position had been vacant following the April retirement of Doug Derrer, who had served in the role since 2009. Since that time, Deputy County Manager Tim Merritt served as interim county manager