TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Manager Faces Turbulent Job

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 6, 2008

PORT RICHEY - Max Pope rolled into this small waterfront city in 1994, with more than two decades of public administration and government experience under his belt.

The Washington state native had been hired from a pool of candidates to be Port Richey's first professional city manager, a position just created by public referendum.

Pope had been warned about the city's tumultuous past.

Still, he was enthusiastic.

"Being a professional, you don't just go into these things blindfolded," he told The Tampa Tribune at the time. "I haven't seen anything in Port Richey that has scared me off yet."

Less than two years later, Pope was run out of town by the same council members who hired him. They accused him of overstepping his authority, then fired him.

He would be the first of several city managers to go down in flames.

The guy who took the job after him, Vince Lupo, lasted about eight years before he was fired in 2004. Council members claimed he no longer could run the city properly.

Then there was Jerry Calhoun, who gave it a try for a couple of years. He resigned last October amid increasing criticism of his actions by newly elected council members.

So here comes Richard Reade, 36, a fresh-faced former administrator from Davenport with an unwavering smile, enthusiasm and big hopes for this west Pasco municipality.

His first day in city hall was two weeks ago. He was the fourth choice for Port Richey, which had offered the position to several others, all of whom turned it down.

Reade comes to the job with no illusions.

"There's going to be challenges, sure, and I'm prepared for it," he said. "But I'm excited about it. This is a wonderful little city and I'm looking forward to working with everyone."

'There's A Lot Going On'

Before Port Richey, Reade was city manager of Davenport, in Polk County, in 2003-04. From 1999 to 2003, he held administrative jobs in Auburndale and Polk County government, and he's worked in Haines City and West Palm Beach.

Until recently he was a real estate consultant, negotiating land deals for a Central Florida developer.

His one-year contract with Port Richey includes an $80,000 salary with benefits.

Reade has spent much of the past week becoming acquainted with council and staff and learning about several major projects and initiatives under way.

"I'm trying to get up to speed right now," he said. "There's a lot going on in this city."

While Port Richey has no shortage of pressing issues - from getting a stalled multimillion dredging project going, to accounting for the loss of more than a quarter of the municipal water supply - perhaps the greatest challenge Reade will face comes from within city hall.

He's aware of the city's history of political infighting and rocky council-manager relations.

"I'm apolitical," he said. "Hopefully we can all find a middle ground and build on it."

Power Struggles Persist

Port Richey flirted with a city manager form of government in the mid-1980s but failed to make it work. Council members couldn't get along with their managers.

In 1994, more than 80 percent of the voters approved charter changes that took the day-to-day responsibility of running the municipality away from the council.

The previous system, which placed each city department under the purview of a council member, had been blamed for much of the turmoil.

Since those changes, the city's track record with administrators hasn't improved much.

It seems to be a constant power struggle between the elected leaders and the hired managers over what the job responsibilities should be and what direction the city should be headed.

Before Calhoun left, he talked about being forced into a corner by competing interests on the council; about being compelled by the board to tighten the purse strings and prepare budgets that couldn't possibly maintain an adequate level of services.

He also confided that he felt some council members had little regard for his position.

"They don't want a city manager," he said. "They don't respect me or the job I hold."

Calhoun was the only manager in the city's history who left of his own accord.

"He came here with such good ideas and enthusiasm," said former vice mayor Phyllis Grae. "But everything just fell through the cracks."

Like other city managers, Grae said, Calhoun was overwhelmed by the political divisions.

"I think he was in over his head," she said.

Her advice to the incoming city manager: "Don't let people push you around. You have to stand your ground."

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT