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Beach commission bestows a new Jeep on city manager
By AMY WIMMER
© St. Petersburg Times, INDIAN ROCKS BEACH -- Goodbye, 1974 yellow Volkswagen bug. Hello, 2002 Jeep Cherokee. For more than three years Tom Brobeil, the city manager and Indian Rocks Beach's highest-paid employee, has tooled around town in his wife's old Beetle. When on city business, he attached a magnetic sign to the door identifying his association with Indian Rocks Beach. City commissioners agreed Tuesday to buy a new car for the city manager, a perk included in his contract but never budgeted in the past. Faced with a choice between a Ford Explorer, a Ford Taurus and a Jeep Cherokee, commissioners chose the $22,769 Jeep. Brobeil initially declined to state a preference. "When the City Commission is in a giving mood, I think it's prudent to remain silent," he said. But then discussion shifted to the possibility of buying a brand new Volkswagen bug to replace his old one -- an idea two commissioners liked and one was leaning toward. "I think he really wants the Volkswagen, but he doesn't want to say anything," Commissioner Joanna "Cookie" Kennedy said. Finally, Brobeil interjected. "(The bug) would present a certain image, and I don't know if the majority of citizens want to present that image," he said. In addition to the car, commissioners also decided to give Brobeil a 7 percent raise, bringing his annual salary from $65,614 to $70,207. They also agreed to contribute more money toward his retirement. But the big bonus for Brobeil this year is the Jeep. "He's the only city manager of the big three -- St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island and Madeira Beach -- who doesn't have a car," Mayor Bob DiNicola said. Brobeil's contract promises a city car for his use during working hours, but Brobeil was uninterested because he often drives to work meetings from home, making the city car offer unpractical. "I didn't squeal about it because if it's not a take-home car, it's of no value," Brobeil said. But city commissioners agreed to supply Brobeil with a car he also can take home for personal use. "He looks like he's from the hippie generation with that yellow thing he's driving around," Kennedy said. The Volkswagen bug did make his car easy to spot in the parking lot, said Brobeil, who said he won't be unloading the old yellow car because his wife is fond of it. "You can always find the city manager because he's got the oldest rust bucket in the parking lot," Brobeil said.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
