Before Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen cleared out his desk and set out for retirement Friday, he left the council with one final recommendation: Don’t wait to begin the search for a replacement.
Selecting a headhunter firm to lead a national search and negotiate a contract will take time. Making the right pick, at the right cost, could take even longer, he advised in his last speech behind the dais, where he’s led Volusia for the past 12 years.
And then he was gone, whisked away in part by protesters and critics, leaving the transition following a turbulent past few months in the hands of seven council members. Those elected leaders tapped Deputy County Manager George Recktenwald to step into the role on an interim basis, and they plan to begin the process of selecting a consultant to oversee the job search during their first meeting in July.
Given its location along 47 miles of shoreline, a recent surge in economic development and its great financial shape — Volusia will be debt-free in the general fund come Oct. 1 — the county has plenty of qualities to entice the kind of top-notch candidate County Chair Ed Kelley said he wants.
What might drive them away? "The current political climate," Kelley added.
Several council members fear that good candidates could be deterred by what they find in Google searches or Twitter checks about the county. That's why they have a message for those who've amped up the negativity on social media in recent weeks: Dinneen is gone. Move along.
“If we are not careful, and somehow keep this (social media) fire going, we will be lucky if we get Barney Fife in here as county manager,” Councilman Fred Lowry said.
Pat Patterson shared similar concerns.
“Folks, it’s not going to be easy,” he said of the search for a new manager. “If you are applying for a job as county manager and you hear what’s been going on, you’re going to have some serious thoughts about coming here.”
Patterson said he knows where the problem that could hinder their search for a new manager is coming from: "the fourth floor" of the county administration building.
The Sheriff’s Office.
Since taking office in 2017, Sheriff Mike Chitwood hasn't kept quiet about his feelings toward Dinneen. He first called for the manager's termination last March. In recent months, his push became even more aggressive and persistent following news that a medical examiner resigned after only a month on the job, sending a letter to the state warning of what she called "potentially dangerous" morgue conditions.
Chitwood's self-described Twitter rants about the morgue drew complaints from the state chairman of the Medical Examiners Board, who cautioned that the social media attacks could hurt efforts to bring in qualified doctors at a time when staffing levels are critical.
Even after those comments, and even with Dinneen out, Chitwood hasn't stopped condemning county leaders on Facebook. In a post Wednesday, he targeted the six members of council who voted to accept Dinneen's resignation instead of firing him and complained about his behavior and the social media criticism.
"We all have to answer to critics. That is the deal we accepted when we entered elected office," the sheriff wrote. "You are not being attacked, you are being held accountable. There’s a difference."
That level of accountability shouldn't hinder the search for a new county manager, especially someone who is eager to take on a challenge, Chitwood said later in a telephone interview.
"If something comes up that’s wrong, I’m going to post about it; if something comes up that is done right, I’m going to post about that, too," he said, adding, "If someone is looking at a challenge, they will jump at this place because it’s a great place to live, work and play."
A new manager, in the eyes of some council members, is an opportunity to make it even an better place.
Councilwoman Heather Post, the only council member who moved to terminate Dinneen rather than accept his resignation, said during Tuesday's meeting that she wants a leader who's more transparent with the public and will do a better job listening to employees.
"I am looking forward to moving ahead," she said.
Council Vice Chair Deborah Denys hopes that the public is looking ahead, too. While she had criticized Dinneen's lack of transparency in recent weeks, she also aired her frustration with the barrage of personal attacks he endured on social media.
"Nobody is perfect," Denys said. "If you think our next manager we hire, whoever it is, is going to walk on water, I need to launch you on the next rocket out of here. Sometimes we miss it; and that's why we have strong conversations."
Kelley said he's in favor of a national search, with a net cast wide enough to catch applicants near and far. He doesn't see the same issues with transparency that Post and others have cited in recent meetings. His top priority is to find somebody with keen "financial knowledge" who has experience managing a county or large city.
The county will need that, he said, if a proposed amendment increasing the value of homestead exemptions on many property tax bills passes in November, potentially costing local governments millions from their budgets.
However, he's happy with where the former manager left off. A county with zero debt should have little to worry about when it comes to finding an ideal replacement.
"I wouldn't be surprised if people apply tomorrow," Kelley told his peers following a budget presentation during Tuesday's meeting. "Unless they go on Facebook."