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Commissioners Commend Administrator's Performance

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By TONY MARRERO Hernando Today

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - County Administrator David Hamilton is a skilled leader who has steered county government toward a new level of efficiency in half a year, according to county commissioners.

All five commissioners praised Hamilton's overall performance in their evaluations submitted this week. Hamilton started in March and his contract called for an evaluation after six months.

Hamilton "has provided clear leadership subsequent to several years of turmoil," Chairman Chris Kingsley wrote.

Commissioner Diane Rowden called Hamilton "a creative thinker and purposeful decision maker."

And Commissioner Jeff Stabins said Hamilton "brought a strong sense of command for dealing with long-term, festering issues in the organization." Stabins asked Hamilton to "continue along at the same rate, and in the same vein, and the county will be a better place in which to live."

The evaluations had board members score Hamilton on more than two dozen benchmarks using a scale from 1 to 5. A 3 means Hamilton "meets standards;" a 4 means he "exceeds" them; and a 5 is "outstanding."

The overall scores ranged from Commissioner Rose Rocco's 3.3 to Stabins' 4.6. The average of all five commissioners' overall scores came out to a 4.

But a few commissioners noted that Hamilton needs to keep the board a little better informed of what's going on in government, especially about personnel issues.

In the category of "communication skills," Hamilton got his only substandard rating: a 2 from Rocco, meaning he "needs improvement" in that area.

Later in the evaluation, in the section for commissioners to offer areas of suggested improvement, Rocco asked Hamilton to "work towards better communication and build morale with (department) directors and staff, which would improve productivity."
Rocco also asked Hamilton to "advise the commission prior to action taken in regard to discipline or suspension" of employees.

"I want him to keep us abreast of those decisions prior to going to the press," Rocco said Thursday.
Rowden wrote that she'd like commissioners "to be advised of issues prior to the media."

In an interview Thursday, Rowden said Hamilton won't always be able to call commissioners when a situation is developing.

But, she said, "It makes it a little easier for us if we get a call (from the press) so we know a little about what's going on," Rowden said.

Kingsley wrote in his evaluation that he'd like Hamilton to "keep personnel matters in house."

"Rather than going on and elaborating in the newspaper, I'd rather keep it between him and that person," Kingsley said Thursday.

Hamilton took some decisive action in such matters in recent weeks.

He had to tackle problems in the county's human resources department after an investigation showed that former director Barbara Dupre "failed to perform her essential job duties and fostered a feeling of widespread dissatisfaction among county employees. Dupre ultimately resigned with a severance package.

And Hamilton suspended longtime County Engineer Charles Mixson last month for a host of deficiencies, including a failure to document incidents of employee discipline and not properly overseeing county projects.

Stabins was so impressed with Hamilton's action in this category that he gave the administrator a "6" - literally off the scoring chart - when commissioners were asked to rate his action to "suspend, discipline or remove" any employee not following county policy.

Hamilton, who previously served as administrator for Crow Wing County, Minn., said he was "honored" by the praise and "pleased to have the confidence of the board" but took the commissioners advice for improvement to heart.

"My adage is there's always room for improvement," Hamilton said. "No matter how long you've been in the business or how much you learn, there's always something else to learn."

Hamilton won't be getting a raise this year despite the praise and a clause in his contract that provided for a pay hike of up to 5 percent with a satisfactory evaluation after six months.

Hamilton, who currently makes $135,000, has recommended that the commission this budget year pass on giving raises to top managers and supervisors who make more than $65,000 a year.

"I'm in the same category as all of them," he said.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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