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Sarasota News Leader November 23, 2012 LOCAL WOMAN RISES TO THE TOP A PERILOUS TRANSITION Local government is one area where a talent- ed woman can enter an office environment at the bottom of the ladder and work her way to the top. Deputy County Administrator Jeannie Fuller demonstrated in the 1980s that it was possible for a woman to smash the "glass ceil- ing" to grab all but the top spot after joining the county staff as a secretary. Pam Nadalini attended Fruitville Elementary and graduated from Riverview High School in 1984. She went to work as a junior clerk for the City of Sarasota's Finance Department two days before Christmas in 1985. She rose to become a senior accounts clerk in 1989, and almost five years to the day after her orig- inal hire, she became an executive assistant. Nadalini switched departments to join the City Auditor and Clerk's Office; in 2000, she was promoted from executive assistant to as- sistant auditor and clerk. Two years later, she took the No. 2 job in the office as deputy au- ditor and clerk for $75,000 per year. She held that job until Jan. 6, 2010, when — upon the retirement of long-serving Auditor and Clerk Billy Robinson — she was appoint- ed acting auditor and clerk. Six weeks later, on Feb. 25, the City Commission awarded her the job by a 4-1 vote (Commissioner Terry Turner in the minority). The employment agreement was signed on April 7. She receives $135,000 per year, plus $300 per month for a car allowance. Should the city commissioners let her go for their convenience, she has a severance pack- age in place that will give her six months of pay and medical benefits. If she were to be fired "for cause," no severance would be granted. When Nadalini took over from Robinson, a smooth transition was expected. She had been his deputy for eight years, and she was a 17-year veteran of city government. However, the promotion held a snag. For the first time in her career, she needed a surety bond. And nobody wanted to grant one to her. A Sept. 28, 2011 memo from the city's insur- ance agent noted he had tried hard but failed to find a company to offer a bond. "Unfortu- nately we were unsuccessful in securing terms for the City Clerk/Auditor position. Our mar- keting efforts included accessing all the stan- dard and substandard bond writers includ- ing Travelers, Chubb, Suretec, Hartford and others. Underwriters are unwilling to extend surety without significant collateral for the City Clerk/Auditor position bond," wrote Paul Dawson, the senior vice president of Public Risk Insurance Agency in Daytona Beach. Knowing Nadalini could not get a bond, the city's Human Resources Department staff, act- ing upon advice of the city attorney, obtained an employee theft and dishonesty insurance policy to cover her. The city attorney called it "functionally equivalent" to a bond, after The Sarasota News Leader broke the story about Nadalini's lack of a bond. Members of the Coalition of City Neighbor- hood Associations on Sept. 8 heard City Attor- ney Bob Fournier and Rob Wagner of Brown & Brown Insurance discuss the difference be- tween bonds and insurance. "Insurance is a risk-pooling device," said Wag- ner. "A surety bond is a contractual guaran- tee. It is a guarantee of performance, not a risk-transfer." Page 18