It's hard to believe that the Hillsborough County Commission is the same governing body that, five years ago, seemed to always be in a ruckus.
There were the very public scandals of former commissioners Kevin White (the Pimpin' Commish) and "Lightnin'" Jim Norman, and then there was that Pat Bean/Renee Lee thing that happened.
Things were tough all over.
But five years on, life on the dais on at 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. has been relatively smooth.
Hell, there's even a Democrat at the helm.
On Wednesday, the commission reached peak mellow with a quick and easy nod to County Administrator Mike Merrill's performance. Merrill, if you'll remember, took over for Bean after that lengthy debacle that resulted in her termination (and a nice lil' retirement package).
There was about a minute and a half of discussion of his annual performance review.
Commissioner Kevin Beckner commended Merrill on his handling of the county's various transportation discussions/controversies, and said the only issue that really needs improvement in the county is the way it interfaces with members of the public.
"Customer service, constituent service, is job one," Beckner said. "And we've got a problem with our system. So my expectation over the next year, is that we're going to get this fixed, on the technology side as well as the human issues that we have with the implementation of our system."
But, again, he told Merrill, keep up the good work.
"Overall, I just want to, again, congratulate you and thank you again on a job well done this year," Beckner said.
Merrill acknowledged there could be better training and technology with respect to customer service.
“I do confer there's much work to be done,” he said. “It won't take a whole year, I promise you that.”
And that was that. They approved his evaluation unanimously.
Earlier in the meeting, the commission unanimously approved an effort to woo another Super Bowl to the county in 2019 or 2020.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2015.