A southwest Florida city council voted Monday afternoon to extend a contract offer to Troy City Manager John Szerlag for its open city manager position.
The Cape Coral, FL, council voted 7-1 for Szerlag at an hourlong special meeting after discussion about five candidates, including the Troy city manager.
"I think we have a stellar candidate in Mr. Szerlag," Cape Coral Councilman Chris Chulakes-Leetz said during the meeting. "We need a problem solver, we need a fiscally responsible person and I think Mr. Szerlag would provide that."
Szerlag interviewed in Cape Coral on Friday. The day consisted of both one-on-one interviews with council members and a session for public questioning, the Cape Coral Daily Breeze reported.
Council members noted several qualities they liked about Szerlag, including his vast knowledge of how the city departments operated and his grasp of the economic situation in Cape Coral.
Szerlag was first hired in Troy in 1989 as an assistant city manager. The city promoted him to city manager in 1999. In 2006, Szerlag left Troy for a city manager position in Florida but returned in 2009.
Szerlag was not immediately available for comment on Monday.
Mayor Janice Daniels said Monday afternoon she knew Szerlag had interviewed but was unaware of the Cape Coral council's decision.
"I want him to be happy wherever he is working," Daniels said. "I'm wishing him the very best here in Troy if he chooses to stay, or if he chooses to take another job I wish him the very best."
Keep checking the Troy Patch for updates on this story.
religious nut-job mayor like Daniels? More power to him...
It is telling that Cape Coral recognized Mr. Szerlag's skill and talent over five other candidates. All I know is I've enjoyed my time living in Troy during Mr. Szerlag's extensive tenure, but now we seem to be heading into darker waters, courtesy of TCU and Mayor Daniels.
Patterson writes that he has called on Szerlag for advice in the past and has worked with Szerlag in Oakland County for nearly two decades. "I have worked with many city managers within our 61 communities in Oakland County, and John stands out as simply the best. He is knowledgeable, trustworthy, responsive, and enjoys an excellent reputation not only within my administration, but within his peer group," Patterson wrote.
Anyway, best of luck to Mr. Szerlag! Cape Coral is getting a terrific manager, who is well up for the challenge, and I'm sure will be appreciated by the populace for his professionalism, steadfastness and integrity.
And what happened to Ed Lambert's opinion yesterday in which he criticized the use of the word hypocrisy? Perhaps he was afraid of mining that rich vein of examples which Janice Daniels amply provides.
I don't see how a lawsuit is possible since he has not been fired. Remember, this is not the first time Szerlag has come and gone, as is his right. Keep in mind, too, that fiscal conservatives don't much like the notion of double-dipping. That was part of the reason for the November results.
Hypocrisy refers to professing a principle while demonstrating some contrary action. Back in December, one of the few businesses that the Troy CofC actually represents had its local administrator email HQ with advice not to do any expanding in the city. He was informed by his superiors that his advice was being ignored. You haven't heard the Troy CofC mention that smackdown, have you! It was in the papers.
"Mr. Szerlag is a contract employee and does not get any health care or retirement benefits paid by the city. In the Fall of 2009 when he announced the fiscal situation, he immediately cut his own contract salary by 5%; it was 10% as of July 1, 20011 (consistent with the across-the-board 10% cuts all city employees took). The cost to the City's general fund is some 38% less than the cost of his predecessor. It was what city watchers would describe as a "TCU" majority council that hired him and insisted that continue to collect his retirement benefits because that approach was cheaper for the City. (This followed a failed attempt to find a city manager after a costly search; Szerlag agreed to abandon plans to become a consultant and came back to serve the role.) Bottom line, any other city manager Troy hired would have cost far more than Szerlag costs. Also, he is not eligible for two pensions from Troy as is often claimed" (source TRUST) I don't care what term you call it but it looks like it saved Troy money (38% less than his predecessor) to go with the route that the fiscally conservative dominated council at the time took. If Mayor Daniels has precipitated Mr. Szerlag's departure by attacking him publicly, and causing the city more money in replacing him, I would say she has done harm to Troy.
We had a council turnover precisely because the city administration was viewed as being too loose with the taxpayers' money. Perhaps it was of the mindset that "We're the very best and want to attract the very best, and we'll dangle big bucks out there to prove how proud we are of our city." Perhaps the head-hunting firm was hunting on the wrong terrain in the first place--or, to use another metaphor, fishin' in the wrong pond. By the way, do you remember the talk about our needing a new library? No mention, though, of the city providing over 50 computers for the general public in its largest room--in a city where virtually every household has at least one computer. No mention, either, of the space being taken up by the coffee bar when Starbucks is not far away. And CD's of questionable cultural value being purchased. And on and on. This is why the election results were what they were..
Perhaps the pendulum has deservedly swung back in course correction as far as fiscal expenditures goes. I did not agree that it was necessary to build a new larger library back a few years ago when it was being proposed by certain city council members. Going forward, I think it is important to not constantly hark back to what past administrations did or did not do, that's done with. What's happening now is Janice Daniels's questionable handling of herself since she has taken office. We're losing our city manager and very likely her public scolding of him had some factor in his decision. I know I'd be mad as hell. And I agree with Chris, she would be a detriment to attracting top city mangager candidates, It would have to be someone with a large reserve of patience and willing to take the risk of being reamed out in public if working relations with the mayor have hit a bump in the road. One might say our mayor is learning, but I would think certainly by the time one is over 50, one would have learned how to treat others, this is not a question of being a novice elected official. Given the last four months, I see placing the recall decision on the November ballot as a safety measure for the city of Troy, in case things don't work out with Mayor Daniels. Let the council pick a new fiscal conservative who won't be an embarassment.
Daniels fired the first shot and Szerlag fired back. I suspect Szerlag has the backing of 4 on council, making him safe where he is. I don't know Szerlag's mind, but perhaps he's been looking for a new job--in places like we "of a certain age" seem to favor at that age. It could be that the tiff with Daniels and his job search simply are coincidental. We can be sure that if this is the case, the anti-Daniels crowd would do whatever possible to keep that information secret. By November, a full year in office, Daniels will have demonstrated whether she has found her footing. While I do not support the recall effort at this time because it was begun much too early, if it reaches the ballot and the previous ten months have not been an improvement, I'll vote for removal. It is my judgment that there has been improvement since January. In any event, Louise did not head up an administration bent on fiscal responsibility. Oh, yes, the anti-Daniels crowd by and large supports the transit center--that's the center that Birmingham bowed out of but will use if built. Troy taxpayers will have to pay for all the other improvements made necessary by the center. B'ham gets a free ride, probably with more residents using it than Troy will have. We've been had.