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The cost of finding a new county administrator is estimated at $20,000 to $30,000.
By ERIC STIRGUS
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 30, 2001
Wanted: a pragmatic yet visionary communicator with the ability to work well with county commissioners and municipal officials. Knowledge of Pinellas County a plus.
That is the description that emerged Monday of the person Pinellas County commissioners would like to hire as county administrator.
The formal process of finding a new administrator began Monday with a work session in which commissioners and county officials discussed how they will go about finding candidates for the job. Their plan is to hire a firm within the next month to search for 10 to 15 strong candidates. The firm would conduct extensive interviews and do a thorough background check to whittle down the list of finalists to eight.
Commissioners would make the decision on who will be the administrator.
County officials have projected the national search will cost $20,000 to $30,000. Commissioners will decide how much they will pay the search firm.
Several commissioners said Monday that hiring a new administrator will be among the most important decisions they will make this year. Pinellas County government is a major enterprise with about 3,500 employees and a $1.5-billion budget.
Commissioner Barbara Sheen Todd suggested that some of her colleagues should conduct on-site visits of the final candidates' work environments.
Filling the shoes of Fred Marquis, who retired in August as administrator after 22 years on the job, will be difficult, commissioners said. But whoever is hired will be well-compensated. The current salary range for county administrator is between $101,182 and $169,827. A management survey has proposed the range be increased to between $117,583 and $182,254.
The administrator also will get a $450-a-month car allowance.
Todd said she would like to see someone who has experience working with county governments, a creative person who is fiscally sound. That person also must be able to deal effectively with city officials, she said. On occasion, that has been a problem in a county with two dozen municipalities that don't always agree with the way Pinellas County's government operates.
To that end, County Commission Chairman Calvin Harris said it is important to seek advice from other city managers and community leaders before choosing a new administrator.
"We need to get input from everybody so we can get the person who can keep everybody working together," he said.
Although Harris said he would not overlook someone who doesn't have knowledge of this area, the commissioner said hiring someone who knows Pinellas County would be advantageous.
"If they don't understand Pinellas County, their learning curve is going to be very steep," he said.
One person who has knowledge of the area and has been performing the duties of county administrator for nearly five months is Gay Lancaster, the acting administrator. Commissioners said they would like to see Lancaster vie for the job.
"I hope she does" apply, said Todd. "She's done a pretty good job."
Lancaster could not be reached for comment Monday.