Monroe County’s top official is offering some help to the village of Islamorada in the way of an interim manager option.
Roman Gastesi, county administrator, recently told village officials that the county would be willing to lend Bryan Cook, employment services director, as a short-term manager. The dais is days away from current Village Manager Ted Yates’ last day on July 31 after the council voted 3-2 not to renew his contract. Time is of the essence before Aug. 1 approaches and the village is left without a manager to oversee the day-to-day operations.
Gastesi said Cook and he had conversations with four council members on Wednesday. Vice Mayor Sharon Mahoney was out of town, but Gastesi was able to talk to her over the phone.
An executive-on-loan from one government entity to another isn’t a new concept. Gastesi said Miami-Dade County loaned their county manager, George Burgess, to the city of Miami roughly two decades ago. The city was on the brink of bankruptcy and faced management challenges.
“He (Burgess) helped kind of right the ship, what I call apply the tourniquet, just to stop the bleeding and get a head in the right direction,” Gastesi said, adding that he had the idea as he watched the previous two village council meetings on TV. “It looked like it was going to be tough for them (the council) to find an interim.”
Gastesi said Cook, a Sugarloaf resident, was enthusiastic about the idea. If the council agrees, Cook would initially serve as interim manager for two months to get the village through upcoming budget work and partly through the storm season. A status review would take place in October between the county and village to determine whether they’d like to keep Cook on longer. If the council elects to choose Cook, the village would pay Cook’s salary. Gastesi said several details still need to be sorted out if the council goes with Cook.
“It’s clear they (the council) need some kind of intervention,” Gastesi said. “We had that when I started with the county 15 years ago. We had the same issues and very lengthy meetings. We hope we can help and bring some stability to them.”
County Commissioner and Islamorada resident Holly Merrill Raschein told the Keys Weekly that she believes village residents and business owners would appreciate some consistency and collaboration amid the current fragmented state of the village.
“Whether it’s a team member from Monroe County, I’ve heard our human resource director’s name mentioned, or someone else, I think everyone will be happy to see some governing get done,” she said.
Cook was recently the subject of an investigation after an employee claimed he sexually harassed her two years ago. Gastesi said the county takes such accusations seriously. An investigation by an outside firm interviewed some 15 people, and Gastesi said the claim turned out to be unsubstantiated.
Council members are expected to discuss an interim manager during a meeting today at 5:30 p.m. inside the Founders Park Community Center. Cook isn’t the only name being floated around as a possible short-term manager. During a July 20 special call meeting, Vice Mayor Sharon Mahoney introduced John Gallant as a possible candidate for the job.
Attorney John Quick told the dais he reached out to the head hunting firm Baker Tilly and the International City/County Management Association to inquire about possible interim managers that the council could examine. Quick came back with three potential candidates the council could consider bringing in on a short-term basis.
