Sarasota News Leader

10/19/2012

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Sarasota News Leader October 19, 2012 The problems stem from requests for informa- tion about the county's Fire Department made by the Council this spring. "We're not a city council that likes to add layers of bureaucracy, so we would email at times a particular department in the coun- ty or the county commissioners and let the commissioners deter- mine what department it should go to," Holic tells The Sarasota News Leader. He asked commis- sioners one round of questions, then anoth- er, then a third — and instead of getting an- Page 22 litical or legal astuteness, nor am I known for being politically correct in my presentations." "I'm a pretty direct person," Holic tells the News Leader. "I don't like to beat around the bush and have someone turn around and won- der, 'What are you asking?' … I'm not doing it to hurt any feelings. I'm doing it to find out an answer to a question on my mind." bad, I must be living in some closed-off room. I thought they were pretty good. … I think the world of you guys. Mayor of Venice swers, he received a letter asking him to work through the city manager and county adminis- trator instead of contacting the commission. "That's where the communication between the city and the county broke down," he says. On June 8, Robinson wrote Holic to express "disappointment" in comments he made during a May council meeting. "I find it very unfortunate that you would use the dais to infer that we might have delayed getting you information for less than honorable reasons," she wrote via email. "These kind of unwar- ranted public criticisms chip away at the part- nerships that are needed in a unified approach to serving our citizens." Holic's caustic email response: "Totally im- pressive. I don't know how you do it, but I couldn't find the extra hours in a week to lis- ten to your meetings. … I think you know by now that I am no where near your level in po- John Holic clear it with you first." "If you think the relationships are bad, I must be living in some closed-off room," Holic said. "I thought they were pretty good. … I think the world of you guys." Other council members and commissioners urged both boards to set aside personal snip- ing and focus on cooperation — a strategy for which was laid out by County Administrator Randy Reid and Venice City Manager Ed La- vallee. Both pledged to figure out better ways to share information and communicate, and they asked the commission and the council to decide which issues they should tackle first. Robinson tells the News Leader that "funding and the consolidation or de-consolidation of services" are at the top of that list. Did the discussion clear the air? If you think the relationships are During the Oct. 16 meeting, Holic did not apologize. Despite having a "great deal of respect" for Barbetta, he said, "That doesn't mean I'm going to take everything I say and

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