Six Finalists for City Manager Job

     The City Manager Search Committee, tasked with narrowing down the list of applicants for Fort Lauderdale’s new City Manager position, has just reduced the field to the six finalists.

     Initially, nearly 100 people applied for the job that will surely pay in the $200,000, plus much more range.

     The current Manager, Allyson Love, has been holding the position temporarily and did not apply for the permanent post.

                                     
                                    soon to be, former, temporary City Manager!

    

                                                The six finalists are


   
  Michael Levinson- former City Manager of Coral Springs. Levinson, who was earning $214,000 yearly,  resigned last fall after two City Commissioners were re-instated after being vindicated of sunshine law violations. 
    
     Word had it that the Commissioners were angry with Levinson over their problems, and Levinson was going to feel their pain. 

     Coral Springs has 750 employees and a yearly budget of 100 million.




Daniel Kleman – currently a “Special Assistant” to the Mayor of Jacksonville, Fla., and was their former Fire Chief prior to that. Kleman was a 20 year manager in Tallahassee before going to work in Jacksonville.




James Hartmann – current City Manager of Alexandria, Va. , former official In Orange County, Fla..  Hartmann announced in January that he was resigning to “explore other job opportunities”, probably in Florida.

     Alexandria has a budget of $531 million, similar to Fort Lauderdale’s. Alexandria recently revived it’s “red light camera” program, after having to cancel it due to a 42% increase in accidents.




Pasquale “Pat” Digiovanni – currently the Deputy City Manager of San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio is the 7th largest city in the nation, 1.3 million people. It’s famous for it’s very successful Riverwalk ( and the Alamo!).




Matthew Fertal – current City Manager of Garden Grove, Calif.. Garden Grove is one mile from DisneyLand, and is known for it’s high-end hotels, restaurants, and destinations. Fertal currently earns $250,000 in salary.




Lee Feldman – current City Manager of Palm Bay, Florida. Feldman was formally the manager of North Miami. 


     The City Manager search committee, made up of a former City Commissioner ( not me !), the Chamber of Commerce head, the former Budget Committee Chair, and other important citizens, say they have worked well as a committee, and are looking forward to the Commission finishing the process.

      Stay Tuned … Tim