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The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners this morning appointed Harvey W. "Butch" Raynor III, 58, as the interim county attorney following the July 29 death of Grainger Barrett. Raynor has been the county's deputy attorney for two years under Barrett.
The commissioners plan to conduct a search for a new county attorney, said Chairwoman Jeannette Council, noting the tremendous loss the county is experiencing after Barrett's sudden passing.
"No one could have anticipated this," Council said. "Grainger was at the top of his game. He was brilliant. We will go forward because we have to."
Raynor received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his law degree from North Carolina Central University. He was a senior partner in the
Raynor Law Firm in Belhaven from 1996 to 2007 and served as the Hyde County Attorney for 17 years before joining the Cumberland County staff in 2007. He is a past president of the North Carolina Association of County Attorneys and was the North Carolina County Attorney of the Year in 2003.
Raynor will receive a 10 percent increase in his pay during his tenure as interim county attorney. With the increase, the salary would be $122,408 on an annual basis.
The county's legal department has seven staff positions: a county attorney, deputy attorney, staff attorney, legal assistant, two paralegals and one office support personnel. The department provides legal services to the board of commissioners, county manager's office and county department heads. The office defends litigation on behalf of the county, including litigation against the county, bankruptcy, foreclosures and other claims, and commences legal actions on behalf of the county
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