Top Manatee County staff plan to leave, retire after second push to fire Cheri Coryea
At least two senior members of Manatee County’s government staff are planning to leave shortly after the Manatee County Commission renewed its push to fire County Administrator Cheri Coryea.
Coryea informed commissioners of the departures in a Monday evening email. She announced that Deputy County Administrator John Osborne has turned in his two weeks’ notice and Director of Information Technology Services Paul Alexander plans to retire in March.
“Both of these gentlemen brought vast knowledge of their professional training and skill to our organization,” Coryea wrote. “I hope you will get the opportunity to see these two before they move on and thank them in person for their service.
Osborne’s and Alexander’s career changes follow an emotional and confrontational meeting last week that saw Commissioner George Kruse accuse Commissioner Carol Whitmore of trying to blackmail him over an extramarital affair. He then said he believed Coryea to be part of the alleged scheme, and reversed his earlier decision to give Coryea a chance to meet certain goals and expectations.
“We hear campaign rhetoric about swamps and underhanded dealings, but you don’t fully understand it until you’ve seen it,” Kruse said at the time.
While Whitmore and Coryea denied any knowledge of a plan to blackmail Kruse, Commissioner Misty Servia expressed concern over the impact that firing Coryea might have on the county’s 1,900-employee workforce.
“This would be a disruption of business at the highest level,” Servia predicted. “We’re not just talking about Cheri. This is a disruption of business on a very deep level.”
Osborne has more than 25 years of public and private experience in engineering and planning. He has served in many roles for the county, including as impact fee administrator and head of the Planning Department before he was appointed deputy county administrator in March 2019.
Who’s in charge at Manatee County government?
The Board of County Commissioners discussed Osborne’s departure at Tuesday’s workshop meeting, noting that his absence puts a hole in the county’s chain of command as the board leads its new effort to fire Coryea. Whitmore raised the issue, noting that the board will need to appoint a temporary leader to keep things running smoothly.
“The board will have to make that decision at some point,” said County Attorney Bill Clague, who agreed that the county will need to appoint an acting administrator. “If the board proceeds with terminating the county administrator, they have to decide who will step in.”
Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, who led the first charge to fire Coryea in November, said he has taken a “proactive” approach and has reached out to several leaders who might serve as suitable replacements. One of his suggested applicants is Manatee School Board member Scott Hopes.
In a Tuesday afternoon interview with the Bradenton Herald, Hopes said he plans to apply for the job to serve in an interim basis while the board conducts a search for a permanent replacement.
“It should just be a one-year agreement, get things stabilized and get the board working together,” said Hopes, who holds a doctorate in business administration. “You know, assess the challenges.”
Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said she would prefer to appoint a current employee for the role, but welcomed the idea of an outsider to serve permanently. The board is expected to hold a conversation about the future of the county’s administration at a later date.
IT director’s retirement
Alexander is another leader who has made his mark on Manatee County. He led several initiatives during his time with the county, including an emphasis on bolstering cybersecurity, creating geospatial maps for the public and leading the county’s Vaccine Standby Pool that has been praised by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Alexander has also played an instrumental role in upgrading the county’s 911 system.
“Paul certainly paved the wave for us to better serve our residents and enhance our public safety infrastructure by his forward thinking and his teams’ ability to embrace new technology,” said Jacob Saur, director of public safety.
Currently, the county is in the process of moving its public safety computer-aided dispatch system, or CAD, to a cloud-based system. Two years ago, the county was among the first to begin pilot programs, ultimately selecting the HxGN OnCall cloud-based system.
Implementation of the system is still underway, and the entire CAD system is expected to be on HxGN OnCall by the end of the year.
“The public system 911 industry is the midst of a technology revolution so this CAD system will allow the public to interact with 911,” Saur said. “Without Paul, I could not have gotten any of this accomplished.“
According to Coryea, Alexander plans to retire on March 16. Osborne will finish his tenure with the county on Feb. 16, just one day before the board is set to vote on firing Coryea.
Osborne is going back to work in the private sector and is needed to start his new job sooner than he anticipated, he said in his resignation letter to Coryea.
“I have over 21 years working for Manatee County and have enjoyed every minute of it,” Osborne said in the Jan. 29 letter. “Thank you for the opportunity to serve the citizens of Manatee County. It has been an honor.”
Alexander announced his own departure to fellow department heads in an email on Monday afternoon.
“Without hesitation, the past eight years have been the most rewarding part of my career; and I have enjoyed every moment of the partnership I’ve had with each of you. We have an exceptional team and have made amazing progress together in supporting the business of the county,” Alexander wrote.
In the six weeks ahead, Alexander said he will work to help his team transition to new leadership before his exit.
“I’m confident that the foundation we’ve built together will carry the organization forward for many years to come while creating new opportunities along the way,” he said.
Bradenton Herald reporter Giuseppe Sabella contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 11:53 AM.
