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City manager search narrows to 3 finalists

Indian Rocks Beach commissioners hope to offer the job to one of the candidates at a meeting early next month.

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published November 20, 2005

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH - In a couple of weeks, the city may have a permanent city manager.

The city's present city manager, Al Grieshaber, who was hired to lead the city on an interim basis this summer, is one of three finalists.

Tuesday, the City Commission picked Grieshaber and two other candidates to appear at formal interviews on Dec. 3.

In addition to Grieshaber, the commission will interview Robert G. Anckaitis and Robert S. Bocwinski, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The candidates will meet one-on-one with commissioners throughout the morning. Public interviews with each candidate by full commission are tentatively scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

The commission hopes to offer the post to one of the candidates at a special meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5.

The commission selected the three candidates Tuesday from a list of six finalists picked by Colin Baenziger, a consultant who performed background checks. More than 30 people applied for the job that is slated to pay between $70,000 and $100,000.

Anckaitis is manager of Palmer Township, Pa., a post he has held for 11 years. He previously served as manager of Lower Saucon Township, also in Pennsylvania. Previously, he served 24 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. While in the service, he was a commanding officer in Bamberg, Germany, a teacher/facilitator for graduate level training at Fort Leavenworth, academic director of recruiting training, and a personnel recruiting manager. Anckaitis has managed municipal budgets up to $11-million and military budgets up to $20-million. He holds a master's degree in administration.

Preliminary reference checks conducted by Baenziger show Anckaitis is generally well-liked by his council members. They describe him as "level-headed" and a "problem solver" with "high integrity." He was cited for his organizational and communications skills. Critical comments were limited to paying too much attention to detail and being "too nice to people."

Bocwinski is a retired city manager who last served as village administrator for Lincolnwood, Ill., an affluent suburb of Chicago. He previously served as city manager in Streamwood, Ill., and Columbia Heights, Minn. He also was director of administration for the Hennepin County Park Reserve District in Plymouth, Minn.; administrator for Walpole, Mass., and town accountant and assistant town manager for Plainville, Conn. He holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Hartford.

Baenziger says that Bocwinski's references report he "works well under pressure" and has strong financial skills, as well as knowledge of municipal and legislative procedures. Some references said his "weaknesses" include having difficulty delegating projects, being "stubborn" and sometimes working too hard.

Grieshaber, who has served as Indian Rocks Beach interim city manager since August, previously worked as Sanford city manager. Before that, he was city attorney for Albany, Ga., and served in a series of legal posts for the U.S. Marines, including as executive assistant to the commanding general of Camp Butler in Okinawa, Japan. He served in the U.S. Marine Corp. from 1964 to 1987, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

He replaced John Coffey, who resigned his city manager post following growing commission dissatisfaction with his job performance, and particularly for Coffey's firing of popular building official Steve Andrews. Grieshaber has earned generally high marks in Indian Rocks Beach for his professionalism and ability to lead the city staff. According to Baenziger's background check, outside references praised Grieshaber for his energy and intelligence, honesty and ethics. Among his weaknesses, according to the report, were difficulties in dealing with the "political side" of his job, and being "reluctant" to reconsider decisions.

[Last modified November 20, 2005, 00:54:20]