This batch of 19 applicants who'd like to manage Port Richey shows a range of skills and geography. More competitors are expected.
By ALEX LEARY
Published June 8, 2004
PORT RICHEY - The application deadline is more than a month away but candidates are quickly lining up to become Port Richey's next city manager.
As of Monday afternoon, 19 people had applied for the job, which has a salary range of $55,000 to $70,000. The city clerk expects about 50 candidates when the July 16 filing deadline passes.
The position came open last month after the City Council fired Vince Lupo, saying it no longer had confidence in his ability to oversee the daily operation. Lupo, 63, had been with the city since 1996.
Among the people wanting to replace him is Charles "Tony" Hammond, a city manager in Creedmoor, N.C. Hammond generated headlines in Citrus County in 2001 when he was a finalist for the city manager job in Crystal River.
Knowing the history of turnover - Crystal River was seeking its eighth manager since 1990 - Hammond proposed a 13-page contract laden with perks, including a $190,000 home loan, a new car, country club and gym memberships, unlimited personal use of a cell phone, and a computer, printer and Internet access for his home.
Hammond got plenty of laughs from the City Council, but not the job.
The former city manager of Ocoee, in central Florida, is another applicant. James Gleason, whose contract was not renewed in March, said he has more than 10 years experience in municipal government and stressed his experience in obtaining grants, which was one of Lupo's strong points.
One candidate meets, on paper at least, the desired qualification of City Council member Fred Miller, who wanted someone with dual credentials. Robert Bender is both city manager and public works director in New Carlisle, Ohio.
Other applicants hail from Anaheim, Calif.; Ashland, N.H.; Newton Falls, Ohio; Mount Hope, W.Va.; Cassopolis, Mich.; Tampa and St. Petersburg. Their cover letters and resumes reflect a variety of experience, backgrounds and writing styles.
"My style of work and management is a participatory sensing style wherein I seek to lead with emotional intelligence and encourage responsibility sharing and involvement by subordinates in decision making," wrote Alex Little, a former city manager of Benton Harbor, Mich.
Port Richey advertised on the Internet through the International City Management Association and in the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Tribune and Orlando Sentinel.
City Council members said Monday they had not had much time to review the applications and could not offer much feedback. "I'm optimistic we'll get some good ones," Phyllis Grae said.
