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City Manager Finalists Say Salary Offer Acceptable

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By JO-ANN JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 30, 2007

DADE CITY - City commissioners interviewed two candidates Thursday afternoon for the city manager position, pressing both to make sure they would be willing to live with the pay being offered.

Candidates Bruce C. Behrens of Clermont and Robert T. Mearns of Fernandina Beach said they know the city can only offer limited pay.

The city has advertised a pay range reaching as much as $95,000 annually, based on experience. In prior meetings, however, commissioners have said their budget is strained and they should be conservative about what they offer.

On Thursday, Mayor Hutch Brock alluded to Richard Reade, who in June walked away from an offer because of pay and benefits. Reade, 36, asked the city for $85,000 and a $5,000 raise after six months, plus enhanced benefits and perks. While the city made a counteroffer, the parties still could not come to terms.

While both Behrens and Mearns said they were OK with the advertised salary, severance pay might be an issue. City managers often negotiate severance packages in advance, especially in the event they might be fired by a newly elected commission. That's a consideration because three of the commission's five seats come up for election in April.
Behrens told commissioners he would want six months' severance; Mearns, "a couple" of months.

The commission agreed to move forward at a special meeting Monday. Brock said the board could decide on one of the candidates, reopen the search or consider another option.

During his interview, Behrens said he would spend his first 100 days as city manager going over the city's spending plans, identifying four or five projects the city could afford to tackle, and talking with the community about long-term goals.

He acknowledged he had been fired in July "very unexpectedly" as Minneola's city manager on a 3-2 vote. Some commissioners blamed him for incorrectly installed underground pipes and questioned his judgment on other matters, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Mearns told a similar story.

A consultant for the past two years, Mearns said he had resigned his last job as a city manager, in Fernandina Beach, under pressure from a commissioner he had earlier displeased.
Mearns told commissioners his top priorities in his first 100 days would include assessing city utilities, generating ideas for road improvements and having City Hall pressure-washed on the weekends.

"What the public sees is what the public forms its impressions from," Mearns said.

This is the third time commissioners have selected finalists to interview for the city manager job, vacated when Harold Sample retired from public service July 1.

The commission will meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday in the city commission chambers, 14150 Fifth St.

Reporter Jo-Ann Johnston can be reached at (352) 521-3062 or jfjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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