Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/101651
Sarasota News Leader January 4, 2013 interested. Even private-sector folks can be heavily involved in community building. You can see the effort we put into the selection of a police chief, and I���m confident we had a very good outcome. Page 24 tated where some of my time needed to be spent. SNL: It is an unusual transition. Normally you would come in and face an existing management structure in place for who We���re putting comparable efforts in picking knows how long. Here, fully 90 percent of our new finance director, our new utilities di- your budget will be under new managers rector, and we have a good in-house candidate ��� for utilities and police. to step in at the HR position. We���ll see how Barwin: I think most incoming managers she does, but it���s not a done deal yet. would generally think that���s a good thing. In The challenging part is we have really terrific this case, I wish Bill and Chris and Kurt [Hovpeople in those positions now. [Finance Di- erter, human resources director] were staying rector] Chris Lyons is awesome. He knows around a little longer, because they���re excelevery aspect of Florida finance and this city���s lent. But this is one of the strengths of the $175 million-a-year budgets. Chris is helping council-manager form of government. You with the transition; he���s going to be around strive to recruit and keep talented people, and and be a mentor. It���s the same with utilities. the changing politics really are minimized. [Director] Bill Hallisey is really experienced, Good managers value and deeply appreciate other good manreally talented, reagers, and I think ally conscientious. we���ve got some He���s been touring great ones here. me around our It���s a big challenge, assets, where our replacing really water comes from good people with and how we treat really good peoit, where it goes. ple. They need to It���s a good opporbe committed to tunity to replace this community, really good people and not neceswith really good sarily who sits in people. I���m emphathis seat or at the sizing teamwork commission table and partnership ��� although it���s imand good commuportant that all unnications. It���s one derstand you are a team. This is a deof the things as an mocracy, and you incoming manag- Tom Barwin addresses the City Commission. Photo have to respond er; the times dic- by Norman Schimmel