After a lengthy discussion this morning, Hillsborough County Commissioners today voted unanimously to offer interim County Administrator Mike Merrill a one-year contract, but will go outside the county and commit to a nationwide search for a permanent successor to Pat Bean, who was fired by the BOCC earlier this year.
Boosted by an editorial in today's Tampa Tribune that called on the Board to find a way to give Merill the job, commissioner Ken Hagan recommended that Merill should be approved by the board immediately, praising him for bringing a "sense of stability" to the board, in the aftermath of the long, drawn out process that was the Pat Bean saga. He said it would be a waste of time and money to do otherwise.
Hagan also said that currently, several county administrators in Florida made over $100,000 more than Merrill currently does, so the county would be getting a deal by hiring him now, and bypassing a search committee. "I believe, should contract negotiations begin, his salary requirements will be incredibly reasonable, " Hagan said, adding that he would "not tolerate" offering a severance package in away that resembled what Bean walked away (which was nearly $600,000).
Others gave praise as well, but Commissioner Kevin Beckner stopped the bonhomie by stating that the board should perform a national search to fill Bean's seat permanently. "Exercising prudence and due diligence, I think we need to do that. And if we have to invest that to insure that we get the best qualified individual, I think it's an appropriate use of tax dollars," he said. Beckner said that if something were to go awry in Merrill's tenure, the board could be accused of "county cronyism" and business as usual.
Beckner's sentiment was seconded by new commissioner Victor Crist, who said that during the recent election cycle he heard consistently from the electorate that there was a lack of confidence in county government, and that therefore the hiring process should be above board. "I understand that there will be some costs," he acknowledged, alluding to what it take to hire somebody to help locate and recruit candidates for the position. "But I think the investment in having a process will pay huge dividends in rebuilding confidence in the board of country commissioners and our county government."
Commissioner Mark Sharpe then suggested the idea of hiring Merrill for one year, while still looking wide and far for a permanent replacement, which could be Merrill. "He brought a sense of calm, he brought a sense of trust…and he also brought a plan, " Sharpe said of Merrill, who has worked with the county since 1988.
In a rebuttal, Commissioner Hagan said he didn't think it was prudent, to not offer Merrill the job straight up. New board member Sandra Murman agreed, saying that it would be too costly to hire an outside firm to look for a candidate, adding "I thought the taxpayers spoke very loudly last election cycle."
The 3rd new commissioner participating in his first regular board meeting, Les Miller, asked County Attorney Renee Lee about what had been the biggest issues going into the debate about retaining Merrill – did he have the professional and legal qualifications to take the job over?
The one area where Merrill's resume appeared to be insufficient was the fact that he has a Masters Degree in Religious Studies, vs. Public Administration "or related field." There is also the residency issue – Merrill lives in Clearwater – the county charter calls for the administrator to live in the county.
Merrill replaced Bean on the board back in the spring, and became the interim administrator after Bean finally departed from the scene back in June, which came after months of the board discussing her future, after it was reported that she had given herself (and the county attorney) a 1% raise that was not allowed to do, as well as possibly looking at empl
This article appears in Nov 25 – Dec 1, 2010.