BOCC Paves the Way for Coryea to Serve as Interim County Administrator

BRADENTON – With Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker's last day (March 1) approaching, county commissioners took steps Tuesday to pave the way for Deputy County Administrator Cheri Coryea to serve as the interim administrator, while the board conducts a search for a permanent replacement.

With almost three decades of experience in Manatee County's administration, Coryea, 58, is an obvious go to for such a role. Before becoming a deputy administrator, she led both the Neighborhood Services and Community Services, overseeing the consolidation of those departments, and was consistently lauded for her work by superiors, subordinates, and commissioners.

There was one snag, however. Coryea left college just short of reaching her Bachelor's degree which, according to county guidelines, is required to serve in the roll. This gave some commissioners pause, including Misty Servia and Vanessa Baugh, both of whom praised Coryea's work but said they didn't like the idea of changing the guidelines. Commissioner Stephen Jonsson expressed a similar concern.

However, the other four commissioners–Reggie Bellamy, Carol Whitmore, Betsy Benac, and Priscilla Trace–said that Coryea's experience meant more to them than whether or not she'd finished her last semester of school, nearly four decades ago. The county attorney's office informed the board that simply taking action to modify the requirement would protect the county from legal challenges.

The commissioners compromised by instructing the county attorney's office to amend the requirement for a degree for an otherwise qualified person to serve in an interim role for up to one year. That item is expected to come back before the board at a meeting next month, at which time Coryea will likely be selected to fill the interim role.