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ANNE LINDBERGMike Gustafson was assistant city manager for four years before becoming interim manager three months ago.
PINELLAS PARK - Mike Gustafson took over leadership of the city three months ago in the worst of situations: City Manager Jerry Mudd's suicide.
Now council members want Gustafson to permanently steer Pinellas Park. They offered him the city manager's post at Tuesday's workshop.
"I think it's time we need to consider filling the city manager's position," Mayor Bill Mischler said. "It's been in excess of 90 days. I think that's long enough and we've got to move on. The healing time is come and it's gone and we need to move."
Gustafson, he said, would be perfect for the job.
"I have watched him like a microscope over the last 90 days," Mischler said.
"I have watched how he has handled his administrators and directors. I have talked to a few of them to say, "How's it going?'
"Nothing but compliments about him. I have seen him take care of situations that were sent to him, given to him. I think he has done an excellent job in this interim period."
The mayor added, "Michael was right on top when things did happen unexpectedly and we didn't even notice a little quirk. . .so I want to put that on the table right now."
Council member Ed Taylor asked Gustafson if he'd be interested in taking the job.
"I've had fun, a lot of fun. Yes," Gustafson said.
Gustafson said he would negotiate details of his contract with city attorney Ed Foreman. Those would include salary and severance package. The proposed contract will come before the council at its June 24 workshop. Barring unforeseen disagreements, the council would vote at its June 26 meeting.
Gustafson, 53, is a Chicago native who moved to Florida in 1973 to help his wife's family open a furniture business. He soon gave that up, became a construction supervisor and opened his own firm. He declared bankruptcy in 1987 as the result of a divorce. He is remarried and has four daughters.
He began working for Pinellas Park in 1990 as a senior building inspector and rose through the ranks until Mudd appointed him assistant city manager about four years ago. He was overseeing the city in Mudd's absence due to gall bladder surgery when the city manager killed himself Feb. 11.
Soon after, the council appointed him interim city manager and gave him a 5 percent raise, taking his salary from about $84,855 a year to $89,129. Gustafson's most recent job evaluation, done by Mudd, rated his as outstanding, the highest on the Pinellas Park scale. He is a high school graduate, has trade school training in carpentry and has taken some junior college courses.
His lack of a bachelor's degree concerned council member Patricia Bailey-Snook, who has said in the past that Mudd, an engineer, was not qualified to be city manager and feels the pressure got to him.
She referred to the city charter, which requires the city manager to have a college degree and at least three years experience or, in lieu of a degree, eight years in municipal administration.
"I would hope we'd take our charter and we will abide by the rules in the charter because we have to, we're sworn to and so that we don't do anything that could cause another problem in any way, shape or form," Bailey-Snook said. "Jerry could never have been city manager if we had gone to the charter because he had never been city manager even for a day when we appointed him. I could never live what we've gone through again myself. I feel so partly responsible."
The council should require Gustafson to get training if he takes the job, she said. Bailey-Snook has referred Gustafson to the Range Riders program, developed by retired city managers.
Gustafson said he has consulted with that group. He's also sought advice from other Pinellas city managers.
Other council members were less concerned about Gustafson's educational background, saying his years as assistant city manager and overseeing departments satisfied the charter requirements.
In fact, Gustafson's lack of a four-year college degree mirrors the council and city he'll be serving.
Only 12 percent of Pinellas Park residents aged 25 or older said they have four-year or higher college degrees in the 2000 census. And Bailey-Snook is the only council member with a four-year college degree (early childhood education).
Ed Taylor has an associate's degree in mortuary science. Sandra Bradbury also has a two-year degree in business management as well as courses toward a computer science degree. Mischler has no degree, but has taken courses. Rick Butler has a year and a half in junior college.
Bob Lee, the Gulfport city manager, is the past president of the Florida City County Managers Association. He agrees Gustafson's lack of a college degree will make him unusual among other managers. Between 70 and 75 percent of those, Lee said, hold master's degrees in public administration.
But education is not the only item that makes a successful city manager, Lee said. Some city managers with lots of education have no business being city managers. Also important is the ability to build a consensus and work with a variety of issues and personalities at the same time, Lee said. Gustafson, he said, appears to have that. "Also important is having the right fit for a particular city," Lee said.
That's the way Taylor sees it.
"To me, it's not an obstacle at all," Taylor said. "Michael's answer to everything is "I'll take care of it.' It doesn't get any better than that."