Richard Hicks sets priorities in interim town manager role

Black Mountain administrator identifies budget and FEMA projects as focal points of Tenure

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
February 5, 2026

Black Mountain interim town manager Richard Hicks works in office, Feb. 4, as the administrator begins budget season in his new role. Photo by Fred McCormick

Loose sheets and stacks of papers are scattered across the desk of Richard Hicks, Feb. 4, as he sits behind the desk in his town hall office. The setting is new, but the role as interim town manager is a decidedly familiar one.

His current position as Black Mountain’s top administrator throughout the town’s transition between permanent managers marks the 12th time he has served in that capacity since his 2010 retirement, following 22 years with the Town of Farmville and a total of 32 years of municipal service in N.C. That vast experience revealed obvious areas of interest in his first two weeks at town hall.

“Number one, is to move these FEMA projects forward,” he said of his top priorities during his time in Black Mountain. “We’ve been working with FEMA a long time and we’ve put forth a lot of effort. It’s time to start some construction.”

Initiating the process for the town’s budget, which will go into effect next summer, is another obvious task, according to Hicks, who is also serving as the interim finance director. That position, one of five key vacancies that include the public information officer, project manager and recreation and parks director, had been filled by his predecessor since last August.

“It’s budget season, so I’ll be doing the budget this year,” said Hicks, who has already submitted a call for potential requests from department heads. “They are in the process of getting those requests together, and once we receive those, I will meet with the department heads and refine what they are asking for. As we move forward, I want the town council involved in numerous meetings.”

The manager intends to hold a series of budget workshops with elected officials in coming months.

“They know what we should be working on and what the citizens are most interested in,” he added. “I’m from the outside, so I haven’t been here to know all of that. We will be looking for significant involvement from the council. I’ve never done a budget where you have more money than things to spend it on.”

The current 2025-26 budget marked an 11% decrease from the previous fiscal year, following the widespread impact of Helene, which damaged more than 30 municipal facilities and resulted in significant losses of equipment and infrastructure. The town spending plan increased at an average 17% annually throughout the four prior years, rising from $11.9 million in 2020-21 to $22 million in 2024-25.

Hicks will rely on his experience while navigating the budgeting process.

“A fire department is about the same thing here as it is in a lot of places,” said Hicks, whose career includes five years as the town manager of Pilot Mountain and three with Erwin. His most recent position as the interim manager of the Town of Waxhaw, with a population of over 20,000 residents, included drafting and proposing its current $25.6 million budget. “When you go from town to town there isn’t that much difference in how budgets operate.”

Current FEMA-related projects are managed by the Town of Black Mountain Office of Recovery & Resiliency, launched last July and led by assistant town manager Jessica Trotman. Elected officials, in a workshop held last November, approved 31 business items related to funding or approving Helene recovery projects. Those ordinances ranged from demolition of damaged structures at Veterans Park and the Black Mountain Golf Course to funding engineering services for repair to the Flat Creek Greenway.

Coordinating with a federal entity follows a detailed and thorough process, according to Hicks.

“It takes time,” he said. “I think our biggest issue is that we have 33 FEMA projects and limited staff, so you can only do so much work to keep things moving.”

The interim manager anticipates filling the role for six to eight months, as the town council works with the Piedmont Triad Regional Council to search for candidates to fill Black Mountain’s vacant town manager and finance director positions.

“It is my goal that by the time the new manager is here, things will be moving smoothly,” Hicks said. “Of course, when you’re short on staff that makes it a little more difficult.”

Fostering an “open and honest” relationship with local residents represents another expectation for the interim manager.

“If citizens have questions, ask us,” Hicks said. “One of my goals here is to meet the needs of our citizens, and we want to do that as efficiently as possible.”