In his eight years as Beaufort County’s manager, Paul Spruill gained a reputation for his patience and his ability to listen, not only to community leaders, but to the county’s residents.

While some community leaders told the Washington Daily News they are not surprised Spruill has decided to leave the county’s top job for an opportunity in the private sector, all of those interviewed said they are sorry to see him go. That includes one county commissioner who voted against hiring Spruill in 2003 to succeed former County Manager Don Davenport.

“As you know, I did not vote to hire Paul, but I voted to keep him,” said Commissioner Hood Richardson. “I’m sorry to see him leave. He has restored a lot of confidence in county government.”╩

“Everybody trusts him,” Richardson, a Republican, added. “And that’s a big accomplishment.”

Praise for Spruill crossed party lines among county commissioners.

Commissioner Robert Cayton, a Democrat, praised Spruill’s hard work on the part of Beaufort County’s citizens.

“There is no substitute for hard work,” Cayton said in an interview Tuesday. “He put in the time necessary to know the facts … and bring people together on the issues.

“Beaufort County will owe its success in the future to the hard work of Paul Spruill.”

Beaufort County’s economic developer Tom Thompson said Tuesday that he is surprised the county was able to keep a manager as talented as Spruill as long as it did.

“Paul’s a very talented man and the best county manager I’ve had the pleasure of working with,” Thompson said. “He’s a patient individual who has learned to work with a variety of people.”

“Tideland is very fortunate to have him,” he said.

Spruill on Monday announced his resignation effective June 24.

He has accepted the position of general manager and chief executive officer of Tideland Electric Membership Corp.

Spruill announced his resignation to the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners in a closed-door session with the board on April 4 and again in an April 11 letter to Langley.

The commissioners, who on Monday began advertising for Spruill’s successor with the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, hope to have a new county manager in place before Sept. 1.

“We are just sad, sad, sad,” said Catherine Glover, executive director of the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce. “I’m happy for him, but sad for the county.”

Like Thompson, Glover praised Spruill’s ability to work with people of different opinions and backgrounds.

“He worked well with everybody,” she said. “And he always tried to respond with a positive attitude, even at times when it was a difficult thing to do.”

A native of Bertie County, Spruill came to Beaufort County from Chatham County, where he served as assistant county manager from 2000 to 2003. Before that, he worked as Grifton’s town administrator, where he helped the community recover from the effects of Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

As county manager, Spruill has overseen a general fund budget of approximately $50 million and, currently, 288 full-time employees along with a countywide water-enterprise budget of approximately $5 million annually with 25 full-time employees.

During his tenure in Beaufort County, Spruill steered the county through a number of difficult issues including the specter of a nearby outlying landing field proposed for the region, the expansion of mining operations by PotashCorp Aurora, a downturn in the economy that has led to reductions in county staff, a lawsuit that strained relationships between county and public-school leaders and, most recently, the proposed lease/purchase of Beaufort Regional Health System by Greenville-based University Health Systems of Eastern North Carolina.

For more than a year, Spruill and Beaufort County School Superintendent Don Phipps had worked together to repair the rift between county and school leaders that developed as a result of the lawsuit over county funding for local public schools.

“I enjoyed working with Paul,” Phipps said Monday afternoon. “Regardless of the issue, Paul is always pleasant and fair. He consistently handles the public’s business with dignity and integrity.

“Paul works hard to seek mutually beneficial solutions to problems. He seeks to understand the issues surrounding a problem before taking action. His thoughtful problem solving style and ability to communicate will be an asset for any group or organization he is a part of.”

He has also garnered praise from many observers for being able to work well with an often fractious county board.

“When you can work with the seven of us, you are masterful,” said Jerry Langley, commissioners chairman.

David McLawhorn, president of Beaufort County Community College, met with Spruill and the commissioners Monday morning to present the college’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2011-2012.

He echoed the opinions expressed by others.

“Paul Spruill has been a strong and courageous leader as our county manager,” McLawhorn said Tuesday. “He has gone out of his way to be fair and treat county departments in an equitable manner. I have truly enjoyed working with Paul and have always found him ready to first listen and then reflect before offering his opinion. His management skills and demeanor will sorely be missed but we need to be thankful for his contributions and wish him Godspeed in his new endeavor.”

Meanwhile, Glover, like many others, said she is pleased that Spruill plans to stay in Beaufort County and looks forward to working with him in his new position.