City fills newly created leadership position

Sarasota city officials have selected a familiar face to fill a new role, hiring Finance Director John Lege as assistant city manager.

The City Commission authorized the creation of the assistant city manager job at a July 18 meeting. City Manager Tom Barwin said the position is necessary as the city’s organizational structure continues to grow post-recession, arguing that he and Deputy City Manager Marlon Brown are not capable of overseeing the entirety of the local government’s operations.

Lege, originally hired in 2013 as the city’s finance director, previously served as the assistant city manager and chief financial officer for the city of Ocala. In his new role, Lege will oversee the city’s financial administration, human resources, information technology, facilities and parking management, according to Barwin’s proposed organizational chart for 2016-17.

“John is going to specialize in our internal operations,” Barwin said. “Pulling together HR and finance and IT to make sure they’re totally integrated and totally working in lock-step.”

Barwin pointed to other areas of expansion — including the re-establishment of a dedicated parks department and planning director — as evidence the city needed an additional leadership position to help steer the ongoing growth.

He said the decision to promote from within will help create a smoother transition as staff adjusts to the new organizational structure.

“John is ready to hit the ground running, because he’s been here now for three years,” Barwin said. “I have complete and total confidence in him.”