Former police chief to lead county

The same day a Sarasota County sheriff’s official declined the job of interim Sarasota County administrator, another law enforcement veteran was selected for that post.

On June 8, the County Commission unanimously chose Terry Lewis, a former North Port Police chief, to replace Jim Ley, who resigned amid a procurement scandal.

Earlier this year, Lewis completed a six-month term as interim city manager of North Port.

Maj. Kurt Hoffman, of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, declined the interim county administrator’s job after he learned he would have to take a significant reduction in his retirement benefits and reapply to get his law-enforcement-level benefits once he returned to the Sheriff’s Office.

Contact Robin Roy at [email protected].