CUMMING — Forsyth County Commissioners voted 5-0 on Tuesday to elevate Doug Derrer to interim county manager.

The commission voted on an interim contract, which specifies Derrer will receive the same $130,000 annual salary as Rhonda Poston-O’Connor with two benefit provisions retained from his contract as deputy manager.

Derrer is a Hall County government retiree who joined the Forsyth staff in January.

Poston-O’Connor was fired in a 3-2 commission vote Sept. 4.

The deal with Derrer includes the retention of his 401k benefits specifications and personal leave accrual benefits.

"The items come directly off the deputy county manager contract," said Pat Carson, the county’s personnel services director.

Poston-O’Connor served as interim county manager for about 17 months before being promoted to county manager in September 2007. She did not, however, have a formal contract for the interim position, though she did receive a county manager’s salary while serving in that capacity.

Carson said that’s because Derrer’s promotion differed from Poston-O’Connor’s. Derrer’s former title was deputy county manager, while Poston-O’Connor’s was assistant county manager.

Carson said the job descriptions of the two positions differ.

"A deputy county manager has some higher-level duties," she said, adding that the assistant county manager was not a contracted position, as was deputy county manager.

She said it would "make good business sense" for Derrer to have a contract for the interim position since his deputy county manager spot also was contracted.

At Tuesday’s work session, County Attorney Ken Jarrard told commissioners voting on the contract "memorializes the action" of bringing Derrer on as interim.

While commissioners did not provide a specific reason during the Sept. 4 meeting for terminating Poston-O’Connor, Commissioner David Richard has said it was a failure to inform the board about a potential $5 million transfer in the budget.