Council Names Fruitland Manager To Administration Post

SALISBURY – John Psota will serve as Wicomico County’s new director of administration after the council voted unanimously last week to confirm his appointment.

Last week, the Wicomico County Council voted 7-0 to confirm Psota’s appointment as the director of administration, effective July 1.

Psota, who currently serves as Fruitland’s city manager, will replace current Director of Administration Wayne Strausburg, who announced his retirement in March.

“I wish to thank the County Executive, Bob Culver, for this opportunity and for having the confidence in me to fill this position and thank you to Wayne Strausburg for his support,” Psota said in a statement this week. “I would also like to thank the Fruitland City Council, both past and present, for their guidance and support as well as all of the dedicated Fruitland City employees that I have had the pleasure of working with through the years.  Lastly, I would like to thank the Wicomico County Council for their confirmation and I look forward to working with them.”

Since 2012, Psota has served as the city manager of Fruitland, the second largest municipality in Wicomico County. There, he oversaw all department heads, provided executive leadership for all major city functions and prepared the annual budget, among other things.

A Salisbury native and life-long resident of Wicomico County, Psota graduated from Wicomico High School in 1981, Salisbury University in 1985, and the Maryland State Police Academy in 1987. In 2017, he graduated from the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance, a program offered through the University of Maryland.

Prior to his term as city manager in Fruitland, he served as a trooper with the Maryland State Police for 25 years.

Psota said he is excited to join Wicomico County Government in his new position.

“I am excited, proud, and humble to join this team of hardworking men and women who strive to make Wicomico County a safe and great place to live, work, and raise a family,” he said.

Strausburg, who joined the county as director of administration in February of 2012, will leave his position at the end of the June after agreeing to postpone his retirement by several months while the executive office searched for his replacement.

Strausburg spent years in the private sector before joining Wicomico County Government. From 1972 to 1996, for example, he worked his way from assistant treasurer to president of Fair Lanes Inc., a former Baltimore-based bowling alley chain. And after AMF Bowling Centers Inc. bought Fair Lanes in 1995, Strausburg moved to Wicomico County as president of the English Company, one of Fair Lanes’ holdings prior to its acquisition.

In 2012, Strausburg was appointed as director of administration under the former county executive, Rick Pollitt. For the past eight years, he has worked under both Pollitt and Culver, overseeing county departments that report to the executive branch.

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

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Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.