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Commission OKs 2-Year Pact With New County Attorney

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By JULIA FERRANTE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 5, 2007

DADE CITY - County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a two-year contract with Jeffrey Steinsnyder, the next county attorney.

A former assistant county attorney in Manatee County, Steinsnyder is to start his new job in Pasco on Jan. 22 for a salary of $165,000. He is to replace the retiring Robert Sumner.

Steinsnyder will become the first county employee to receive a car allowance of $450 a month.

He also will get a deferred compensation retirement package with a 50 percent match and a $100,000 life insurance policy, according to his contract.

County Commissioner Pat Mulieri questioned why the county is offering Steinsnyder those benefits when others, including County Administrator John Gallagher, do not get them.

Gallagher, who has been in his position for 26 years, said the benefits are "the wave of the future" for high-ranking county employees and comparable to what is being offered in other counties.
Commission chairman Ted Schrader and Personnel Director Barbara De Simone considered what a number of neighboring counties offer in negotiating with Steinsnyder, they said.

Commissioner Michael Cox said Schrader and De Simone "negotiated a good contract," noting that Steinsnyder's salary will be lower than that of many other county attorneys.

Steinsnyder plans to maintain his primary residence at a waterfront home in Manatee County to take advantage of a homestead exemption there for at least a year, Schrader said.

He plans to rent a home in Pasco and stay there most of the time.

"We gave him a year," Schrader said.

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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