Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/100825
Sarasota News Leader December 28, 2012 list started with 104, and now those left are Ed Mitchell, city manager of West Palm Beach; James Chisholm, city manager of Daytona Beach; Barbara Lipscomb, city manager of Casselberry; Rich Chaffin of McKinney, TX; and Thomas Barwin of Oak Park, IL. If there is a dark horse in this race, it is Barwin. Until last March, he was village manager of Oak Park, a tony Chicago suburb of 53,000 people with a $45 million general fund budget. To believe his eclectic resume, he just might walk on water. Page 34 has been a long time coming, so thanks for your hard work,��� Commissioner Nora Patterson tells Public Works Department staff after making the motion. Construction is expected to begin this month and conclude in October, according to the memo. The existing watermain line, installed by the Siesta Key Utility Authority across Little Sarasota Bay in the early 1970s, ���is failing and needs to be replaced,��� the staff memo says. ���A leak was first detected in the line in 1996,��� the memo adds. That leak was repaired, the memo continues, but, since then, ���new leaks have occurred with inJUNE 5 creasing frequency.��� In 2006, SKUA ���conveyed On a unanimous vote, the Sarasota County and transferred its real estate holdings, easeCommission approves a $1,133,622.95 con- ments, utility lines and other infrastructure��� tract for the construction of a new watermain to Sarasota County. pipeline linking Siesta and Casey keys. The cost is about $467,000 less than the estimate JUNE 7 by the project engineer, according to a coun- The rank and file of the Sarasota Police Dety staff memo sent to the commission. ���This partment has unanimously rejected the city���s contract proposal. All 142 eligible officers, sergeants and specialists cast their votes against the contract agreement. Michael ���Mick��� McHale, president of the Southwest Florida Chapter of the Police Benevolent Association, tells The Sarasota News Leader, ���It was the first time in our history of 38 years with the city that we had a unanimous vote, in this case to reject the proposal.��� The primary sticking point is pensions. Sarasota police are totally dependent upon their city pensions for retirement, because they do not pay into the Social Security System. Underperforming investments, declining property values and a smaller workforce have put the city���s pension plans under stress. Last month City Commissioner Paul Carragiulo said cost-of-living A graphic illustration shows the routes of the adjustments are already causing headaches: existing and planned watermain pipelines ���The ratio of workers-to-retirees was four-tobetween south Siesta Key and Casey Key. Image courtesy Sarasota County one. Now it���s close to one-to-one.���