Politics

Jennings steps in as administrator

He'll be the interim county chief, replacing Gary Kuhl. After that? Who knows?

By CHANDRA BROADWATER, Times Staff Writer
Published October 3, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Larry Jennings said he isn't sure about whether he wants to fill the role permanently.

BROOKSVILLE - He's about to become the temporary county administrator once again.

County commissioners appointed Deputy Administrator Larry Jennings as interim county chief on Tuesday. He will take over when current Administrator Gary Kuhl steps down Nov. 10.

Though willing to take on the job for now, Jennings indicated that he isn't sure about working permanently as the county's top administrator.

When asked what it would take to make him consider taking on the post full time, the 57-year-old Jennings said, "I don't know.

"And that's the truth, I don't know," he said later Tuesday. "I guess you always have to take the time to think about it."

After Kuhl departs, Jennings told commissioners, he hoped to stay on track with a number of important issues. Those include improving customer service, continuing with the county's economic development plan and getting a start on the 2009 budget.

"It's important that we don't lose ground and keep moving forward," he said.

Jennings served as interim administrator from December 2005 through March 2006, after the departure of Gary Adams and before Kuhl began.

Prior to that, he worked for eight years as the growth coordinator for the county. Before that, he served as the county's planning director.

Jennings has worked for Hernando government since 1973. Not long before, he graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in economics.

Details about pay for the interim job were not hammered out Tuesday. Kuhl signed on for a $120,000 salary, plus health and retirement benefits.

Kuhl submitted his 60-day notice last month, citing the "antigovernment atmosphere" in the county. The 61-year-old Kuhl said he had been frustrated by not being able to find a way to counter those attitudes.

The decision to leave wasn't so much because of a single incident, but an accumulation of issues that have taxed county staffers and captured headlines over the last several months, he said.

A former Citrus County administrator, Kuhl was working as operations director for the Southwest Florida Water Management District when he accepted the Hernando job.

At the time, Kuhl said that he had plans to retire when his four-year contract was up. And Jennings said even then that he had little interest in the job. "Hopefully, Gary will make his four or five years, and we'll cross that bridge then," he said.

Chandra Broadwater can be reached at cbroadwater@sptimes.com or 352 848-1432.

[Last modified October 2, 2007, 21:09:39]