Former official faults ex-boss

He says the county's environmental agency appeases builders.

By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER, Times Staff Writer
Published October 22, 2007

TAMPA - Dissent and public disclosure are being squelched at Hillsborough County's environmental agency at the same time rules protecting wetlands are watered down, said a former manager who resigned from the agency last month.

Danny Alberdi made $75,000 a year as the agency's No. 2 in charge at the wetlands division. He said the agency's executive director, Rick Garrity, has been preoccupied in recent months with appeasing developers and county commissioners at the expense of the environment and county staff.

"Garrity's motivated by fear," Alberdi, 48, said. "He's afraid of the board. They bully him, and he doesn't fight back."

As a result, Alberdi said, Garrity has ceded much of the agency's authority in a plan adopted in August under intense political pressure from commissioners.

Instead of eliminating the division, which imposes stricter rules than the state in protecting wetlands, the plan overhauled it. It cut costs, decreased the time to review projects and created new advisory groups to review rules.

At the time, the plan was touted by Garrity and commissioners as a compromise, a practical way to save the wetlands division from elimination.

Alberdi calls the new "hybrid" plan a capitulation to developers.

"He's giving the farm away," he said. "Somebody's got to stop him."

Garrity said he was surprised to hear Alberdi's comments and repeated his support for the hybrid plan. Garrity said his agency is open to the public, hasn't tried to muzzle internal dissent and upholds tough environmental standards.

"Danny's entitled to his opinion," Garrity said. "I disagree with him. I'm through with debating the issues of the summer. I'm on to making sure the hybrid is a success."

Alberdi resigned after his position as a general manager in the wetlands division was eliminated. In July, he was reassigned to special projects. Although he earned the same pay, he said it left him unsatisfied because it didn't have any duties. He volunteered to resign to save the division money and left the county Sept. 30.

His work evaluations depict Alberdi as a valued employee, earning the highest rating of "outstanding" the last four years. Garrity didn't write those reviews, but he did sign off on them and sometimes added comments.

"Tremendous work," Garrity wrote last year.

"Danny is a great asset to EPC and works well as a team player," Garrity wrote in 2005. "I am so happy you are here and part of the wetlands team."

Garrity didn't add such comments on his July evaluation this year. By then, Alberdi's supervisor, Jadell Kerr, had already resigned after she posted critical comments about the County Commission, which sits as the EPC.

Alberdi was on vacation then. Upon his return, he said, he was reassigned without explanation and stripped of his duties.

"They neutralized me," said Alberdi, a lawyer who had made clear his objections to weakening of wetlands rules. "I was forced out because I wouldn't go along."

Garrity said Alberdi was not forced out. He said after Kerr left, he had to shuffle the department.

"With Jadell gone, we didn't know how we were going to reorganize," he said.

So why not just keep Alberdi in his current job until the division is reorganized?

"It was our management decision," said Garrity, who makes $159,000. "That was how we structured the reorganization after Jadell left."

Alberdi said Garrity made other changes. Weeks before, he said, Garrity was angry after an interview with a reporter who had found a memo in a file detailing how Garrity intervened on behalf of developer Stephen Dibbs, who was trying to get approval to build homes. Dibbs led the campaign to abolish the wetlands division. Alberdi said Garrity later told staff they couldn't talk with reporters before clearing with legal counsel.

"If he's interfering for Dibbs, he doesn't want that memo in the file," Alberdi said. "From then on, we had to show him the memo before putting it in the file. I didn't show him a memo after that."

Garrity said he was upset because the memo was inaccurate. He said he did require employees to show him memos after that.

"As the head of an agency, I think you'd want to know if your staff has a feeling about a decision you've made," Garrity said. "I don't remember telling anyone not to talk to the press."

Alberdi is still looking for a new job. Last week, meanwhile, Garrity delivered his annual speech on the state of the local environment. Afterward, EPC chairman and County Commissioner Brian Blair congratulated him.

"Excellent report," Blair told Garrity. "You and your staff did a fantastic job."

Michael Van Sickler can be reached at mvansickler@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3402.

[Last modified October 22, 2007, 00:41:49]