UPDATED: Commission approves Bullock contract

The Longboat Key Town Commission approved a one-year town manager contract for Sarasota County Deputy Administrator David Bullock at its Monday regular meeting.

In discussing the selection process, town attorney David Persson said that he sought an “activist manager” for the position and described Bullock as a “hands-on, let’s get-it-done kind of guy.”

But the commission also heard from residents who expressed concerns, especially with the transparency of the selection process.

“I think we are going too fast for this appointment,” resident Alycia Craft said.

Resident David Novak also questioned the process and told the commissioners that they sought a candidate with the qualities of 14-year Town Manager Bruce St. Denis, who resigned in September, in a time when change was needed.

“I think this is a potential missed opportunity,” Novak said. “The whole economy is upside down. We need change, someone who has turned around towns.”

But Mayor Jim Brown, who said that the commission will continue to seek other candidates for the permanent position, said that the town needed to move forward with pressing issues.

“We are trying to do your business as well as we can,” he told residents. “I’m exhausted.”

Commissioner Lynn Larson expressed concerns with the terms of the contract and suggested changing it to a six-month contract with an option to renew. But commissioners voted 6-1, with Larson dissenting, to approve the contract as negotiated by Persson.

Bullock will receive a $180,000 annual salary in addition to a $540,000 life insurance policy and retirement contribution of 17.8% of his salary. Bullock will receive 30 days’ severance pay if terminated without cause by the town.

For more information, pick up an Oct. 6 copy of the Longboat Observer.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].

Shown below: A pdf copy of David Bullock's new contract.