Photo courtesy of The Argus Foundation.

The Sarasota City Commission appropriately hit the reset button last month on their City Manager Search. It was the right thing to do, and at the right time.

When a city commissioner steps into office, commissioners must rely on staff for the expertise of their departments, as commissioners usually are dealing with issues they have limited time to learn about. This is where the commissioners learn to trust staff, but verify, and learn their role in accountability of government.

None of the city commissioners are experts in the public processes of hiring a city manager, so they had to rely on staff to guide them through the process. There were, unfortunately, early signs that this process was not going well when transparency became an issue. Important information for the public to review prior to important commission discussions was not published, the public was having trouble getting the resumes of applicants from the staff picked manager search vendor, and the commission disagreed with staff as to how the appointed citizen search committee would be used.

Unfortunately, there were only a few legitimate candidates in the small pool and the recommendations from the search firm were not put together in a public setting.

The wheels started to come off the process. Finally, the search firm withdrew after sensing the displeasure voiced by the public and City Commission.

The City Commission voted to start the search over. This is where the City Commission took control of the process and turned the ship around, together, in the right direction. They placed the search under the charter officers of the City Attorney and City Clerk. They voted to find a new search firm and vowed transparency along the way.

With the pending retirement of their Interim City Manager, who had courageously stepped up to the plate to keep the city moving forward while the commission looked for a new manager, the commission understood they had to plan for an interim to take over until their new search was done. They picked Dave Bullock, former Deputy County Administrator, former Longboat Key Town Manager, and former Interim EDC CEO. Mr. Bullock has incredible experience and is well respected by citizens and business leaders in the community. It was a solid pick and he will help with the issues facing the city in dealing with the county, particularly on stormwater.

The Sarasota City Commission deserves a lot of credit for their efforts and work on this issue. While it appeared messy, our sunshine laws will have it no other way. The commission recognized the problem, admitted it, took control, and got the process back on track headed into their summer recess. They appropriately pivoted, just as the private sector would do.

The City Manager search is one of the most important things any of the city commissioners will do in office. The commissioners showed courage and leadership in changing course. They should be commended for getting this back on track.

Christine Robinson is the Executive Director of The Argus Foundation.

Photo courtesy of The Argus Foundation.