SPRINGFIELD — Even though Effingham County is new to Timothy Callanan, it’s almost like he has been here before.

Hired last week as county administrator by the Effingham County Board of Commissioners, Callanan, 49, dealt with the kind of the challenges and opportunities Effingham County faces while working in various roles in Charleston, S.C.

The former Wall Street executive was the deputy supervisor of administration and chief financial officer for Berkeley County from 2015-18 and served as a county council member from 2007-15. He was also a consultant for two major Charleston homebuilders and a financial advisor for Wells Fargo Advisors and Securian Financial in Daniel Island, S.C. 

Aside from its location, Callanan knew little about Effingham County before starting the interview process for his new post.

“I knew where it was because of traveling to see my mother-in-law in Florida,” he said. “Coming back (on I-95), there is a little Effingham County sign. I kind of knew it was close to Savannah.”

Callahan learned a lot more about Effingham County while researching for his interview and he liked what he discovered.

“I was surprised with the similarities — the proximity to the port and the interstate — that Effingham has with the county that I came from, which is Berkeley,” he said. “I think a lot of what we experienced up there is beginning to be experienced down here. Some of it is exciting but, with some of it, you’ve got to be careful and have a plan or you end up in a situation where you’ve got all this growth and no infrastructure to support it.”

Callanan said population projections made for Berkeley County have been far exceeded.

“That’s one of the lessons learned, I think, that we had up there,” he said. “Prior to having any real development but wanting development, they agreed to these massive residential development agreements thinking that it would take like fifty or sixty years for them to be built out. Meanwhile, ten or fifteen years later, one of them is about eighty percent complete but the infrastructure was not there to support it.

“That just goes to show you when you make a decision thirteen years ago and how it affects you today. Everything that we do today, certainly in this county, we’ve got to project out what the effect is going to be when a residential development gets built out or an industrial development gets built out.”

Callanan believes his resumé has prepared him for Effingham County’s challenges. Having served in the public and private sector, he views problems and opportunities from multiple angles.

“They are good challenges if you approach them correctly,” he said. “You don’t want to be in a situation like Detroit where you have an exodus of population and industry. One of the goals is to take these opportunities and make sure you are using them to benefit of the citizens.”

Callanan believes his service as a council member will aid him the most.

“I think my experience as an elected official was extremely valuable because you learn the effects of your policy decisions,” he said. “Being able to understand the mind-set of an elected official and what their expectations are, I think, is helpful.”

Callanan and the board of commissioners’ primary objective will be to find ways to pay for Effingham County’s infrastructure needs that will “burden taxpayers the least.”

According to the latest figures from the Census Bureau, Effingham, on a percentage basis, is the 26th-fastest growing county in the country. Its current population is about 60,000.

“Every one of those folks who comes in is going to need a new place to live, good schools and a low crime rate. Effingham checks all those boxes,” Callanan said, “so the potential for growth is obviously very high.”

 The board of commissioners is working to give Callanan more power to handle the day-to-day operations of the county by changing his job from county administrator to county manager. The move will give commissioners more time to focus on their policy-making role.

“Hats off to a board of commissioners that realizes — from a business perspective, from an operation perspective — that this new form of government, which is not in place yet, can be beneficial to the long term of the county,” Callanan said. “It will require them to relinquish a little of their authority but, on the same aspect, as long as you keep those lines of communication constantly open, nothing will be a surprise and that’s critical.

“The big decisions will always be in the hands of the commissioners but it will make it easier for the people who come here to do business to get the smaller decisions right off the bat.”

Callanan will have plenty of personal challenges in the coming weeks. He and his wife, Jeannie, must sell their South Carolina home. In addition, their 14-year-old son, Emmett, is about to start school. 

“One nice thing is that it’s just two hours away,” said Callanan, who has lived in the Charleston area for 19 years. “I don’t want to commute four hours everyday but, if I have to in order to get home for events and if something happens, I can until we get everyone down here.”

Something big happened July 31 — his third day on the job. His son suffered a compound fracture of his left arm in a bicycle accident.

“It broke both bones all the way through,” Callanan said.

The injury interrupted Emmett’s leading extracurricular pursuit. He is an avid golfer.

“I think the thing that upset him the most is starting high school with a broken arm,” his father said.

Despite his son’s medical mishap, Callanan is excited about what awaits him, his family and Effingham County.

“I could not be more excited about being in one spot than here,” he said.