Volusia County interim manager offered permanent position

Ormond Beach Observer
News

Interim Volusia County Manager George Recktenwald could soon lose the first word in his current title.

The Volusia County Council voted unanimously at its meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 22, to allow staff to draft a contract offering Recktenwald a permanent county manager position, subsequently halting a national search. Recktenwald, a longtime county employee, had been serving as the interim manager since last June, after former County Manager Jim Dinneen retired. The contract will be reviewed and discussed by the council at its next meeting on Feb. 5.

Volusia County Council Chair Ed Kelley said Recktenwald told him he wanted to be officially considered for the position on Jan. 12. Council members across the dais expressed their approval of Recktenwald for the job.

“You don’t always have to go somewhere else to find an expert, when you have an expert here that became the expert because he worked in this county, and worked well throughout this county," County Council At-Large Representative Ben Johnson said.

County settles Votran accident litigation

Volusia County will pay $75,000 as a result of a 2017 lawsuit after a man on his bike was hit by a Votran bus in Daytona Beach. As part of the settlement, however, the county is also gaining $18,300 for costs of the man's 2012 incarceration for manufacturing marijuana.

The agenda item summary details that the man had the right-of-way at the time of the accident, and that he incurred $130,000 in medical bills. Councilwoman Heather Post pulled the settlement agreement from the council's consent agenda and said that after examining the county's mission statement, complaint, counterclaim and the statute used to file it, she was not on board with approving the settlement.

“As a member of the council, we have a duty to ensure that every action by this council is fair and in line with putting the citizens of Volusia County first. I’m not quite sure that this legal strategy follows that course," Post said.

County Attorney Dan Eckert said it was common for the county to purse counterclaims in legal battles against the county, and that while this case had a clear liability, there was a question of "reasonableness" of the damages. He said it would have been a cost case to try, and that both parties arrived at the settlement through counsel.

Post's motion to amend the settlement so that the victim didn't have to pay the county for incarceration costs failed 6-1.

With the changes that are coming to Volusia — specifically the outcome of the Amendment 10 legal battle and the special election for a half-cent sales tax — Johnson said bringing a new county manager from outside the area could create a problem, since circumstances could change in a few months.

If Recktenwald doesn't work out, Johnson said the council can "buy him a suitcase."

Councilwoman Billie Wheeler said she's heard "nothing but good reports" of his communication with the public and the cities.

“He knows what he’s doing," Wheeler said. "He has the experience. He certainly has the respect out there in the public and he has my respect.”

Councilwoman Heather Post said that at first, she was an advocate for a national search to hire a new county manager, as she felt that was a way to "reboot" and move the county in a positive direction. However, seeing as Recktenwald has routinely communicated with her from the start and that they're able to have "hard conversations" without creating personal problems, she changed her mind.

“You understand the value of the employees," Post said. "You understand the value of every class of citizen within Volusia County, and you understand the value of ensuring that all of their voices are heard.”

Only one council member expressed reservations. Councilwoman Barbara Girtman said she believes in looking at the county "through fresh eyes and new opportunities." She was concerned about hiring Recktenwald without setting expectations for the job and ways to evaluate them in the future. But, she said that as long as the contract addressed that, she would be "okay" with hiring him.

Recktenwald said that the landscape in the county has changed over the last six months. He voiced his commitment to look at everything from a new perspective because he believes the county needs to evolve.

“If you don’t evolve, you go backwards," he said.