Baltimore County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger III appointed his first new department head yesterday, naming Charles L. Fisher Jr., the deputy county recreation director, to head the Department of Aging.
Mr. Fisher, 48, of Dundalk, is a 26-year veteran of county government who worked in the Department of Aging for four years in the early 1980s, serving as associate director for senior centers.
His $76,053 salary will remain unchanged in his new post, which he takes over Tuesday.
Mr. Fisher succeeds Dr. Phillip Pushkin, a general in the Maryland National Guard who will become the county's director of emergency management.
"Charlie brings invaluable experience and leadership skills to this important position, and I can't think of a better person for the job," Mr. Ruppersberger said.
Mr. Fisher said leading a department "is something I've strived for all my life."
He said he let the incoming Ruppersberger administration know that he was interested in "a higher role," and asked for the Department of Aging when he learned the top job there would be vacated.
"I think it's a good department," he said, adding that he has no plans for drastic changes. The agency, which operates senior centers and deals with other issues involving the elderly, is highly visible in Baltimore County, which has the region's oldest population.
Mr. Fisher has served as deputy director of recreation and parks for the past 11 years.
Still without permanent department heads are the county's fire, public works, personnel and health departments.