Longtime Montgomery County Administrator retiring

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - On Monday, longtime Montgomery County Administrator Donald Mims announced his retirement.

Mims has worked for the Montgomery County Commission for a total of 33 years and has been the county’s administrator for the past 21 years.

“I mean, I was almost 33 when I got here. Thirty-three years have passed and I’m 66, so it’s a matter of trying to reevaluate your life and do what you think the Lord wants you to do,” Mims said.

According to Mims, the Lord wants him to spend more time with his family.

“There’s a point (in your life) that you’ve enjoyed what you’ve done, but you think that there’s some more things that you’d like to do with your life. So, one of the things is I’d like to do is have more family time to be with my family and just have fun with them," Mims said.

Aside from spending more time with family, Mims said he could also see himself getting back into politics in the near future.

“I would not be surprised if I were in the legislature lobbying for children’s efforts, you know here, or possibly in Washington, D.C. I’m open to that. If we don’t take care of our children, we’re going to be in trouble," Mims said.

In a letter released to the media, Mims detailed his achievements over the past three decades:

“I have helped the Commission with bond issues, land acquisitions, construction projects, including the Montgomery Industrial Park, the new detention facility, Annex III and additional recreational parks. Currently, we have $32 million of renovation projects in process including the Old Selma Road Park. The Risk Management department was started. We transitioned to RSA for our retirement plan. I have worked diligently to receive good audits from the Examiners of Public Accounts and to help the County Commission stay in compliance with the ethics law.”

Mims said what he’ll miss the most about being the county’s administrator is the people.

“The people," Mims said. "Helping the commissioners. They really want to help the public and I’m trying to help them help the public.”

Mims said he hopes Montgomery’s next county administrator is in it for the right reasons.

“They’ve got to have the ability to relate to the elected officials and the public. So, there’s a people aspect of it that you really need. You’ve got to have core competencies to run the government, relative to finance, management, operations and things of that nature. If you don’t have a servants heart and don’t want to help people, then you’re in the wrong job," Mims said.

Mims’s last day as county administrator is set for Dec. 31, 2019.

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