Committee Narrows Top Boss List To Three

BROOKSVILLE - The selection committee charged with interviewing applicants for county administrator narrowed the field to three people Friday: Kathy Rice, Tom Marko and David Hamilton.
The committee was not expected to make its decision Friday. There was to be another interview session.
But that second meeting will not happen. And that doesn't sit well with at least one county commissioner.
County Commissioner Diane Rowden said she is not so much upset about who the committee chose for the finalists as she is with the process.
The county's human resources department notified Hernando Today Thursday that no decision would be made Friday. That would come at a second meeting to be arranged, according to employment coordinator Beth Howley.
An announcement to that effect was made in the newspaper. If the press and public were led to believe there would be a second meeting to determine the final three candidates, that is what should have transpired, Rowden said.
She wonders how many more people would have attended Friday's meeting if they knew a decision was going to be made.
"To me, that is misleading (and) I'm upset about it," Rowden said.
Barbara Dupre, human resources director, said the six-person panel - five of whom were hand-picked by her - agreed early on who they wanted to interview and made the decision to short list the finalists from six to three.
"They were all great candidates," Dupre said. "It's just that these three stood out."
Dupre said she did not participate in the interview process but merely served as a facilitator.
"We didn't know 100 percent what they were going to do (Friday)," Dupre said. "(But) they were able to accomplish all the interviews."
Dupre said the three finalists now go before county commissioners for interviews Jan. 22. By Jan. 23, the county should learn who its next administrator will be, Dupre said.
Well, maybe.
Rowden said the board does not have to choose from this list.
"The final decision rests with the board," she said. "Whatever they (the selection committee members) do doesn't mean that's the end of it."
Rowden said commissioners can throw out all three names, revisit the original 39-plus applicant list or choose someone else entirely.
Here's a look at the final three candidates the selection committee chose:
Tom Marko, development coordinator for Miami-Dade County, Fla.
David Hamilton, administrator for Crow Wing, Minn.
Kathy Rice, assistant city manager, Surprise, Ariz. since March 2004.
In October, Rowden blasted the administrator recruiting plan proposed by Dupre. Having Dupre involved in the recruiting process is a conflict of interest because she has a vested interest in who gets picked, she said.
The county administrator will be her boss.
Rowden instead asked her colleagues to handle the recruitment process themselves. Commissioners, she said, make the "big bucks" to make the big decisions.
Her colleagues disagreed, saying it is entirely in Dupre's realm to help in the selection committee process.
Dupre came up with the names for the committee: Pasco County Administrator John Gallagher, Oak Hill CEO Mickey Smith, Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Pat Crowley, and businessmen John Ehlenbeck and Sam Shreves.
Rowden asked for and received board approval to add a sixth person to the committee: Retired Army general M.T. Smith.