Approach

How I lead

What residents, staff, and elected boards can expect from me — and a couple of the decisions that show it.

After nearly three decades in Florida local government, I have come to believe the job of a city manager is mostly about trust — earning it, keeping it, and never spending it carelessly. The manager works for the elected board, serves the residents, and is responsible for an organization of people who deserve clear direction and steady leadership. Get those relationships right and the work follows.

I manage public money as exactly what it is: a trust. That means clear priorities, disciplined budgeting, and being able to show residents the value they received for what they paid. I would rather under-promise and deliver than chase a headline.

With the council, I work on a no-surprises basis. Elected officials set policy; my job is to give them honest, complete information — including the news they would rather not hear — early enough to act on it, and then to execute the direction they set without becoming political myself.

And I lead the organization by developing the people in it. A full-service city performs because its staff are supported, accountable, and clear on the mission. The best thing a manager can leave behind is a team and a set of systems that keep working after they are gone.

Fiscal stewardship first

Public dollars are a trust. Sound management means clear priorities, disciplined budgeting, and investments that deliver measurable value to residents — especially as cities navigate the end of one-time federal funding and rising costs.

No surprises with the council

Elected officials set policy; the manager gives them honest, complete information in time to act on it, then executes their direction faithfully — without becoming political.

Operations that hold under pressure

A full-service city has to perform every day — and especially on the worst days. Coastal Florida management means planning, drilling, and leading through hurricanes, then guiding the recovery with steady coordination across agencies and partners.

Develop and retain the team

Cities run on their people. I lead by setting clear expectations, supporting staff, and building systems and a bench that keep working long after any one leader has moved on.

“A well-run city is quiet in the right ways — the services work, the budget holds, and the downtown is alive. That's the job.”

— Charles Harris Rudd

In practice

Leadership, in real decisions

Crisis leadership

Leading a coastal city through back-to-back hurricanes

When Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck the Gulf coast in 2024, Tarpon Springs faced historic flooding across its waterfront and downtown. As city manager, I was responsible for the city's emergency operations before, during, and after the storms — protecting residents and staff, keeping essential services running, and standing up recovery the moment it was safe to do so.

The hardest calls in a disaster are made with incomplete information and no time. We prioritized life-safety first, kept the commission and the public informed in plain language, and coordinated closely with county, state, and federal partners so the city could move quickly on debris, infrastructure, and assistance.

Out of the recovery, I pursued state funding for stormwater-infrastructure improvements so the next storm would find a more resilient city. Crisis is where a council learns whether its manager can be trusted to keep the organization steady — and that is exactly the test I want.

Redevelopment & finance

Reviving a dormant CRA and funding the basics in Crescent City

Crescent City is a small, full-service municipality with big ambitions for its downtown. Its community redevelopment agency had gone quiet, and core water infrastructure needed investment the general fund could not carry alone.

Rather than ask residents to shoulder it through rates, I focused on leverage: I helped secure roughly $4 million in grant funding for critical water-infrastructure improvements, revitalized the dormant CRA with new redevelopment grant programs, and directed downtown and corridor master plans that earned the city a Florida Main Street designation.

The throughline is using public dollars to pull private and outside investment in — the same approach I have brought to downtowns across my career.