PICKENS — County council members voted Monday night to hire a new Pickens County administrator.

David Allen McNeill will begin the job on Jan. 4, according to a news release.

McNeill, who is currently the county operations manager for Transylvania County, N.C., comes to Pickens County with 27 years of experience, with 19 of those years in administrative management.

McNeill has spent the majority of his public service with Transylvania County, where he is directly responsible for emergency medical, emergency management, addressing, communications, building and grounds maintenance, animal control and the office of fire marshal.

Prior to joining Transylvania County, McNeill worked in Montgomery County, Guilford County and Moore County in North Carolina.

He holds a Bachelor’s of Science and a Master’s of Public Affairs from Western Carolina University. McNeill is married to Sandra Greene McNeill, and they have three children — Allen, Nathan and Makayla.

The county has been without a full-time administrator since February, when the county and former administrator Matthew Delk parted ways after Delk was on the job for less than six months.

Delk’s departure eventually led to a S.C. Law Enforcement Division investigation after councilman Neil Smith alleged via an email sent by clerk to council Donna Owen that Delk had used county resources illegally. No charges were ever filed, however.