Pasco County budget boss retiring

Michael Nurrenbrock has prepared 29 budgets for Pasco County. He's working on his 30th, but he doesn't plan to stick around for its final approval.

Nurrenbrock, director of the office of management and budget, is retiring in July, contributing to a brain drain this summer in Pasco County government of nearly a century of institutional knowledge.

Mike Clark, the county's budget manager, is retiring in August. Assistant County Administrator Dan Johnson, who even predates County Administrator John Gallagher, retires this summer after 35 years with the county.

Nurrenbrock joined the county in 1982, recruited by the newly hired Gallagher. The two had worked together in New Port Richey and share the same philosophy about local government. "He's a fiscal conservative with great respect for the public trust in dealing with public money," Gallagher said.

Within months, the two had set about reshaping Pasco County government. "When we got here, the budget office consisted of two people," Nurrenbrock said. Some departments he now supervises, such as purchasing and community development, didn't exist.

Now Nurrenbrock oversees about 250 county employees in various departments.

Preparing for the losses of Nurrenbrock and Clark, county commissioners this week approved a major reorganization that would divide Nurrenbrock's duties between two new positions: budget director and assistant county administrator for internal services.

The new budget director will work directly with commissioners with the assistance of a budget manager, a vacant position that will be filled this year. In addition, the county will create the position of accounting/fiscal services director.

Gallagher said the assistant county administrator position has been advertised. The other positions will be posted this week.

"We've got money in this year's budget to hire them now to try to ease the transition," Gallagher said.

It will take all hands to squeeze out a budget for fiscal 2013. The county faces a potential $6 million shortfall for fiscal 2013.