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Safety Harbor, take it slow on manager issue

Safety Harbor residents might have been surprised last week to learn that the City Commission had decided on a new city manager. They might have asked, wasn't that awfully quick?

In fact, it was. Considering the importance of the decision, Safety Harbor commissioners moved swiftly to hire a new manager, and seemed proud to have done it so quickly.

Cities often take many months to advertise, recruit, review applications, pick a list of finalists, check backgrounds and references, travel to the communities where the finalists last worked to ask questions, bring in the finalists for public interviews and finally, debate and select their favorite.

Not Safety Harbor. After City Manager Wayne Logan announced he was resigning, the city hired a consultant, the Mercer Group, to review applications and backgrounds of applicants. Six finalists were selected for interviews. The finalists came to town on Sept. 14 and 15. Their visit included an hourlong meeting with the City Commission, an hour with city department heads, a city tour, a public meet-the-candidates social and a 45-minute interview with each city commissioner. Midafternoon on the second day, the commissioners made their choice.

Now, some commissioners seem in a hurry again - to consider dumping their choice before the contract has even been inked. However, moving too quickly now could be just as much of a mistake as haste on the front end.

Until early this week, commissioners were enthusiastic about their selection of 57-year-old Billy Beckett. Beckett had been a county planner, a county administrator in three states, the city manager of Riverdale, Ga., and, most recently, director of the Coosa Valley Regional Development Center in Georgia.

His references were excellent, saying that he was known for remaining cool in difficult situations, was a good communicator, had great people skills, was always professional and was a "good and decent man." He had confronted many challenges in previous jobs.

So why, with contract negotiations under way, are commissioners now ready to dump him?

Beckett informed commissioners this past weekend that he had just been named as a defendant in a federal racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a black former police officer in Riverdale. In a memo to commissioners, Beckett answered the lawsuit's claims point by point, proclaimed his innocence and noted that anyone can file a lawsuit, even a frivolous one. He urged commissioners to call Riverdale to get the full story. He also offered to step down if commissioners so desired.

Since racial tensions recently have roiled the Safety Harbor Public Works Department, some commissioners now seem to think Beckett would be the wrong choice. They are making that decision solely on the basis of a lawsuit about which they know very little.

At 5:30 today, Safety Harbor commissioners will meet in special session to decide what to do about hiring Beckett. Some commissioners are already talking about offering the job to their second choice, who was Reid Silverboard, Belleair Beach's manager. Or, they could start over, they said.

Had commissioners made visits or calls to Riverdale during their deliberations about all the applicants, they might have learned that Riverdale, a predominantly black community, had racial tensions long before Beckett arrived, that he called in the U.S. Justice Department to investigate allegations of discrimination in the police department, that he had an open door to all, and that he was well-respected and praised by blacks and whites in communities he served. They might also have learned that the former officer who filed the lawsuit has a spotty history and a credibility problem.

City managers are the chief executive officers of the communities they serve. They have more power than an elected commissioner. Hiring one is an awesome responsibility. Snap judgments have no place in this process.

The relatively inexperienced Safety Harbor commission needs a seasoned manager to lead the city. Beckett has that seasoning and may be the best man for the job. The City Commission should slow down, spend more time with Beckett, and thoroughly investigate the lawsuit's allegations before deciding that their first choice is not the right choice.

[Last modified September 28, 2006, 23:02:36]