Lancaster County administrator leaving for a new job in the Midwest
Lancaster County’s top hired official is leaving for a job in Kansas, while elected officials here start the process of replacing him.
The city of Wichita is expected to vote Tuesday to hire Dennis Marstall as city manager. Marstall has been the administrator for Lancaster County since 2021.
Marstall confirmed just before Thanksgiving that he was in negotiations to finalize a contract and start date. He thanked Lancaster County Council and county staff for embracing his family in his time here, Marstall said in a statement.
His more than 20 years in the region includes time in economic development and as chief of staff of the mayor’s office in Charlotte prior to his work in Lancaster County.
“I will always have a deep connection and great fondness for Lancaster County and the larger Charlotte community,” Marstall said.
He also has a history in Kansas. Marstall worked as assistant city manager in Manhattan, Kansas after earning Bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University.
Overseeing growth in Lancaster County
In Lancaster County, Marstall’s term saw sustained growth in the Indian Land panhandle and the beginning of a population surge farther south. Lancaster County is the third-fastest growing county in South Carolina and the fastest-growing county in the Charlotte region since 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Unprecedented business growth followed that population to Lancaster County in Marstall’s time. Joining the list of more than half a dozen corporate headquarters in the area are recent sites like Costco, Target and several large shopping centers that surround them.
Lancaster County Council called a special meeting Monday night.
The only agenda item is a closed-door discussion on personnel matters related to the county administrator’s office. The administrator position is the highest non-elected job in the county, overseeing public offices that serve more than 108,000 residents.
The county is projected to have 192,000 residents by 2050, according to county and state forecasts.
Council will focus Monday’s meeting largely on an interim plan, Lancaster County Council Chairman Brian Carnes told The Herald. The county will look for a search firm to help locate Marstall’s long-term replacement.
“My goal is to have somebody in place no later than the first of July (2026),” Carnes said.
Council will look at what other counties pay their top officials, which can be a challenge to find spots with the same population and growth rate. The administrator role pays about $200,000 here, about $75,000 less than what Marstall was offered, Carnes said.
“Dennis did a good job,” Carnes said. “From a public-facing standpoint, I think that’s his strongest suit. And I think that’s what they were looking for, somebody that connects well with the public.”
