City manager candidate: Jim Chisholm

“Open, approachable, visionary.”

Those are the three words that are used repeatedly by Daytona Beach officials to describe City Manager Jim Chisholm’s management style.

Chisholm, along with West Palm Beach City Administrator Edward “Ed” Mitchell and former Casselberry City Manager Barbara Lipscomb are the three Florida city manager candidates who will come June 29 and June 30 to Sarasota to be interviewed by Sarasota city commissioners and residents.

All three Florida candidates declined to be interviewed by the Sarasota Observer until they are interviewed for the position.

Chisholm has more than 32 years in public service. He has served in a city or county executive position in five other Florida counties or municipalities before he became city manager of Daytona Beach in 2004.

Comments from Chisholm’s interview with the search committee show what a detail-oriented city manager he is.

Chisholm noted 120,000 people drive in and out of Daytona Beach every day, while more than 100,000 people drive in and out of Sarasota each day. He also noted he works with several colleges and universities in Daytona Beach and would do the same here.

“Some of the solutions Mr. Chisholm has pursued in the past seven years are revamping the organization and retooling the police department,” interview notes states. “He consolidated the city police force with the county. He managed the financial requirements of the retirement programs for police and fire officers while maintaining a stable financial base. At the same time, he has implemented significant infrastructure improvements such as building community centers and improving water and sewer lines. In other words, Mr. Chisholm has already dealt with many of the issue Sarasota faces, and he is ready to bring that experience to Sarasota.”

Chisholm did indicate a weakness of “sometimes taking a bit of time to fully recognize shortcomings in his personnel,” noting he didn’t discover until a year after the fact that a former finance director was not performing her job correctly.

He also notes that the greatest accomplishment of his career was the creation of an entertainment zone, called E-Zone, in Daytona’s core tourist area that’s adjacent to city beaches and includes an auditorium and convention and sports arena complex. A renovated city pier is also set to open soon, and Chisholm attracted a restaurant to anchor the restored pier project.

The zoning effort, Chisholm said, was made to attract private-sector companies to the area. Recently, two hotels have also announced plans for the area.

Lynelle Klein, who interviewed Chisholm for the Sarasota city manager job, had the following to say about her time with Chisholm: “An accomplished and experienced manager; personable; laughs often and has a great sense of humor; confident, competent, concise, transparent and direct. He is a visionary who always operates in the best interests of his community.”

Daytona Beach Government Relations Administrator Hardy Smith told the Sarasota Observer the city was on the verge of bankruptcy before Chisholm came aboard.

“He used tough-love leadership to turn the city around and has helped make a number of improvements,” Smith said. “He’s a forward-thinker who thinks out of the box to solve problems.”

Daytona Beach Mayor Glenn Ritchey said he was sad to hear Chisholm is considering leaving.

Asked what stands out the most about Chisholm as a city manager, Ritchey said, “He’s not a political person. He takes direction from the commission, understands he works for us and takes criticism well when it’s warranted.”

Bill Altman, former chairman of the DeSoto County Commission, ran his 2000 campaign, in part, on a promise to fire Chisholm as DeSoto County administrator.

“I ended up telling my constituents I was wrong once I got to know him and how he operated,” Altman said. “He’s a great administrator who runs his organization at a high level.”

Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood said that Chisholm is not an average city manager.

“I’ve seen him walking the city’s boardwalk, asking tourists how they are enjoying their visit and polling them to see what they like and don’t like about Daytona Beach,” Chitwood said. “He doesn’t just sit behind a desk all day. He gets things done.”

Jim Chisholm
City of Sarasota commission finalist votes received: Five
Current position: City manager of Daytona Beach since 2004
Current annual salary: $170,693
Background check: No records found.
Past positions: DeSoto County administrator; Islamorada Village of Islands city manager; South Padre Island, Texas, city manager; St. Lucie County administrator; St. Cloud city manager
Education: General business administration degree from Troy State University
Hobbies: Golf and fishing