CHAPEL HILL - Orange County leaders offered words of praise and wisdom to three outgoing commissioners Tuesday at what would be their last meeting.

Leaders sometimes make the right decisions and sometimes the wrong ones, County Manager Frank Clifton said. While they don’t always make headlines, they do have a lasting effect, he said.

Commissioners Valerie Foushee, Pam Hemminger and Steve Yuhasz “leave county government in a better place than when you came,” he said. “Your involvement, motivation and passion served you well and the county well. In your mind, you may not have accomplished all that needed to be done, but you built a solid foundation for those that will follow in your footsteps.”

Foushee was elected in November to state House District 50, while Hemminger and Yuhasz were defeated in the May Democratic primary.

Newcomers Renee Price, Mark Dorosin and Penny Rich will be sworn in as new commissioners Dec. 3.

Chairwoman Bernadette Pelissier, who won re-election in November, said the commissioners have enjoyed working with their outgoing members, and they have learned a lot from each other.

“We bring different perspectives together, so that makes us able to make good decisions in the best interests of this county. I want to thank them for all their many hours, hard work and service and dedication to this county,” she said.

Foushee, Hemminger and Yuhasz expressed their gratitude to county staff and other commissioners. It has been a pleasure to serve the residents of Orange County, they said.

“Orange County’s staff is second to none,” Foushee said. ”We have been able to accomplish what we accomplished because we have a more than competent staff. I don’t take any credit for anything we’ve done. This is indeed a team.”