Heath announces plan to retire on Dec. 31, 2025

Frank Heath has finished his next-to-last budget as Perquimans County manager.

Heath announced in his message for the county’s 2024-25 fiscal year budget that commissioners approved on Monday that he intends to retire on Dec. 31, 2025.

But he’s not going anywhere just yet.

Following his retirement as manager, Heath said he hopes to work for the county in a part-time capacity as a “special projects manager, with a focus on economic development.”

“I want to continue to work to see that the Marine Industrial Park grows,” he explained. “We want more people in Perquimans to work where they live.”

Heath anticipates starting in that new role after Feb. 1, 2026, a month after Perquimans’ new county manager takes over.

According to Heath’s timeline, the county will hire an assistant county manager on Jan. 1, 2025. That person “will work with me to learn the position until the end of 2025,” when he retires, Heath said. The assistant county manager will then step into the role as manager on Jan. 1, 2026, he said.

Heath said he is announcing his planned retirement now because he wanted to give county commissioners “plenty of time to get someone on board” as his successor.