Commissioners vote to keep County Administrator Ed Hunzeker another year

Four months before his contract was to expire and the county was preparing to hire his replacement, Manatee County commissioners voted Monday in favor of keeping County Administrator Ed Hunzeker for one more year.

The vote was 6-0, with Commissioner Vanessa Baugh absent from the meeting, to keep Hunzeker until Jan. 29, 2019.

A national search sprung from a 4-3 vote in December 2016 — Commissioners Vanessa Baugh, Robin DiSabatino, Steve Jonsson and Charles Smith in the majority — to not renew Hunzeker’s contract.

Springstead Waters Executive Recruitment was tasked with finding who would be the next county administrator. Last month, the commission named six finalists for the job.

According to county spokesman Nick Azzara, two of the six finalists — county recreation division manager Danny Hopkins and David Ellis, deputy county manager in Wake County, N.C. — dropped out of the running in August.

It will be up to the county’s human resources department and Springstead Waters to notify the others about the contract extension, Azzara said. The county has so far been billed $5,850 for the search company’s services.

Hunzeker, who has been county administrator since 2006, currently earns $209,185.60 per year. He said he was surprised when DiSabatino approached him about staying, saying he was ready to retire.

“I’ve enjoyed my time here,” he said. “We have a great team and I don’t mind staying a bit longer. It’s an honor and a pleasure to serve this community and this board, and I have a marvelous staff.”

DiSabatino announced during the commission meeting she spoke with Hunzeker about staying, saying she felt as though they had a “ship without a captain.”

Jonsson was critical of DiSabatino and Smith, who he said had been adamant about looking for a new administrator.

“I think we made the right decision,” DiSabatino said.

This story was originally published September 18, 2017 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Commissioners vote to keep County Administrator Ed Hunzeker another year."