The pay for managing the east coast county, which includes Daytona Beach, is $120,000 to $140,000.

By CHRISTINA HEADRICK
St. Petersburg Times
September 2, 2000

CLEARWATER -- Former City Manager Mike Roberto is one of five finalists to become Volusia County's manager, according to a list released this week.

Volusia County Council members decided at a special meeting on Thursday that they want to consider Roberto for the county manager job, which pays $120,000 to $140,000. Volusia County, on Florida's east coast, includes Daytona Beach.

The position involves supervising about 3,000 employees and overseeing a $370-million budget, said county spokesman Dave Byron.

"They're looking for a person with a solid range of administrative experience, who has very strong economic development skills and can blend very well into the community," Byron said. "This is a forefront position, and they expect the manager to deal well with the public."

Roberto, whose resignation was prompted by commissioners in late July after three years on the job, could not be reached for comment Friday.

The Volusia County Council will conduct interviews with the candidates on Sept. 11-12, and could make a decision about a new manager during the final day, Byron said.

The Volusia job became vacant March 1 after the former administrator resigned to become a private consultant. The county's search has lasted throughout the summer because the County Council hasn't been able to agree on a new manager.

In June, contract negotiations with Volusia County's top choice for a new manager fell through. Then the second-choice candidate could not garner a majority vote to be confirmed by the County Council.

As a result, the search was reopened in early July and Roberto's resume was added to the list of potential candidates. It was unclear exactly when Roberto's resume was submitted in July, and Volusia's hiring consultant did not return several phone calls for that information.

The other finalists for the Volusia job are Cynthia A. Coto, deputy manager of Seminole County; Patrick D. Miller, deputy administrator of Palm Beach County; James L. Roberts, county administrator of Monroe County; and Charles (Randy) Oliver, administrator of Augusta-Richmond County in Georgia.

Roberto helped spark Clearwater's redevelopment plan, "One City. One Future." Roberto worked to beautify Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard, boost development on the beach and get neighborhoods more involved with city government.

But controversies erupted over Roberto's spending on consultants and benefits for top staffers, a proposal to impose a new fee on residents to finance the fire department, and the accident-prone Clearwater Beach roundabout, which Roberto had built on a rapid timetable.

Then the city's plans for a $300-million downtown make over flopped in July, when voters junked the ideas in a citywide referendum. Shortly afterward, the mayor said he suggested that it would be in the city's and Roberto's best interests if Roberto resigned.

To ease Roberto's departure, Clearwater city commissioners approved a severance plan in July that administrators calculated recently is worth $161,484.

http://www.sptimes.com/News/090200/NorthPinellas/Roberto_is_a_finalist.shtml