County Administrator Receives Salary Increase

BRADENTON – Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes has received a total salary increase of 9.5 percent in his first 10 months of employment with Manatee County. In April of 2021, Hopes accepted the position of acting county administrator with a contracted base salary equivalent to $89.90 per hour. By January 2022, the now-permanent county administrator was receiving the equivalent of $99.40 per hour, making for a base annual salary of $206,761.

The Manatee County Commission appointed Hopes as acting county administrator on April 1, 2021, 37 days after the county approved a $204,000 separation agreement with the previous administrator, Cheri Coryea. Coryea was a thirty-year county employee who assumed the role of county administrator in 2019. The intended termination of Coryea’s contract came as a surprise to many of the county employees she oversaw, as well as the wider public and even some county commissioners.

The plan to fire Coryea was first made known during a special meeting on November 19, 2020, when newly elected Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge called for a special meeting where he proposed the board terminate Coryea without cause, citing his belief the county needed a "shift in culture." The motion was criticized as hasty and haphazard considering three of the four commissioners who supported the proposal to terminate the administrator had only just been sworn into office two days prior and had not yet had the opportunity to work with Coryea or her administration.

After several dramatic months of back and forth–which included confessions of an extramarital affair from the dais and accusations of blackmail–the board ultimately voted to remove Coryea with a 4-3 vote and later negotiated the separation agreement to avoid potentially-expensive wrongful-termination litigation. Most confounding was that the newly seated board took action to remove a county administrator without any apparent plans in place as to how to find or appoint a replacement.

In a regular meeting held on February 23, 2021, where the commission approved Coryea’s separation agreement, school board member Dr. Scott Hopes gave a passionate pitch of self-promotion to the board as to why he felt they should consider him as Coryea's temporary replacement. In concluding his comments that day, Hopes said, "You don’t have to give me a contract, I don’t even think you have to pay me. I’ll help you through this because I don’t plan on leaving Manatee County."

Commissioner Van Ostenbridge responded to Hopes' passive offer to work as acting administrator without compensation. "How’s that for fiscal conservatism? I brought in a guy that will do it for nothing," he quipped. You can replay Hopes' plea to the board to consider appointing him as acting administrator on February 23here.

In a regular meeting on March 23, 2021, commissioners voted down a motion made by Van Ostenbridge to forgo further deliberations over candidates and hire Dr. Hopes as acting county administrator. Van Ostenbridge also received some push back from his colleagues on a red-line contract drafted between himself and Hopes which Van Ostenbridge explained was negotiated via a phone call.

The redlined contract proposed a starting salary of $210,000 for Hopes to assume the role of acting administrator. Some commissioners expressed displeasure with a process that included independent negotiations, while others expressed concern that the proposed salary for Hopes was significantly more than what was offered to another candidate being considered for the position. The red-line salary proposal was also more than the $193,918 salary former Administrator Coryea was receiving, and more than the $189,000 salary that was currently being paid to Deputy Administrator Karen Stewart for her temporarily assuming the position.

The commissioners kept Hopes in consideration along with another potential candidate, and on April 1, 2021, Hopes was ultimately selected by the board for the role of acting county administrator. Hopes signed a contract with the county at an agreed-upon $187,000.32 base salary to serve in the role. On May 23, 2021, the commission moved with a 5-2 vote to remove the interim tag from his title–making Dr. Hopes the permanent county administrator and adjusting his contract to update his "duties and powers" and reflect a county administrator salary of $199,000.

Through a public records request, TBT obtained the Allocated Position Listing for the county administrators department. The office of financial management maintains an Allocated Position Listing form for each department. The list reports each department’s employee position information and their compensation as an hourly rate. The document–which displayed current employee wages of the administrator’s department as of December 2021–showed that Hopes’ rate of hourly pay was $99.40, equal to an annual salary of $206,761. This figure was more than $7,700 above his contracted salary of $199,000, or $95.67 per hour.

Unlike other county employees, the county administrator and county attorney have contracted positions. This means their pay is set and approved by the board of county commissioners. In Hopes’contract, under Section Ill titled "Compensation," this is explained in the following terms:

"A. Base Salary:
1. The ADMINISTRATOR shall be paid a base annual salary of $199,000 commencing on the Effective Date and payable in installments at the same time and in the same manner as applicable to regular full-time employees of the BOARD.
2. To the extent the BOARD approves a general (cost of living) salary increase in any given budget year, the ADMINISTRATOR'S base annual salary will increase at the same time and at the same percentage rate as other county employees in his or her same pay class and service length. The ADMINISTRATOR is not eligible for any merit pay or bonus not provided for herein unless expressly approved by the BOARD."

Each year, when the Financial Management Department prepares the county’s proposed annual budget, there is a process undertaken by the Human Resources Department to assess county employee compensation. Employee compensations from the previous year are compared against like-sized public sector employers elsewhere within the region, as well as being considered against the current consumer cost of living. The purpose of this process is to remain a competitive employer within the market, encouraging new hires and the retention of existing employees.

If the market rate and consumer cost of living assessment show that the county’s employee compensation is competitive, then no employee pay increase is deemed warranted. If, however, significant differences are identified, then the county administrator determines what rate adjustment is needed to bring county compensations "into line" with the market rate and presents their recommendation to the board via the budget.

In the fiscal year 2020, the recommended increase was 3 percent. In 2021, it was 1.5 percent, and in the most recent 2022, this rate adjustment was recommended at 1 percent.

Additional to recommended market rate adjustments, the county also utilizes a pay-for-performance (PFP) program. The term "pay-for-performance" refers to a performance-based compensation increase. Employees' performances are assessed over the 12-month period, and they are incentivized and rewarded for achieving their employment goals or objectives.

Traditionally, these performance evaluations are provided once a year and range from a 0-5 percent base salary increase for identified qualifying employees who meet assessment criteria. The county’s proposed annual budget includes the total funds needed to be placed in reserves to accommodate the projected budget of the PFP program the following year. The annual proposed county budget, including PFP recommendations and reserves, is reviewed and approved by the Board of County Commissioners.

Included in the adopted budget for the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) on page 16 of the budget message are two sections that outline and describe employee compensation adjustments. In the first section, titled Pay for Performance (PFP), the budget describes, "FY22 Recommended Budget reflects a 1 percent increase to address employee compensation," and, "$1.4 million has been placed in reserves for the Board of County Commissioners for the PFP Program." In an additional section–one that is unique to this year’s adopted budget–titled Minimum Wage Requirements, the budget described an additional across-the-board employee compensation adjustment of 2.9 percent.

As described in the budget message, "In November 2020, Florida voters approved changes to the state’s minimum wage which will raise the rate to $15.00 per hour. As of January 1, 2021, Florida’s minimum wage increased from $8.56 to $8.65 per hour. On September 30, 2021, the Florida minimum wage rate will rise again to $10.00 and there will be five incremental step increases of $1.00 per year by the state to finally arrive at $15.00 per hour on September 30, 2026. In response to this requirement, Manatee is increasing pay levels by 2.9 percent to move toward the achievement of this overall goal. The Board of 16 County Commissioners employees as well as the Sheriff, Clerk of Court, Supervisor of Elections, and Property Appraisers will increase pay levels at 2.9 percent as well."

As of October 1, 2021, the date of the FY22 budget adoption, there were no full-time county employees that made less than the required $10 an hour minimum wage benchmark set by Florida for September 30, 2021. Based on information available on the "Career Opportunities" link provided under Human Resources on the Manatee Government website, it appears a significantly lesser percentage of county employees receive under $15 dollars an hour than those who receive equal to, or above.

Based on the approved budget language, all county employees–whether salaried or hourly, and regardless of whether their pay already met or exceeded the 2021 benchmark requirement of a $10 an hour minimum wage, or even if their pay met or exceeded the anticipated 2026 minimum wage requirement of $15 an hour–received a 2.9 percent wage increase stated as an adjustment needed to achieve a goal of compliance with the minimum wage increase passed by Florida voters in 2020. Combined with the 1 percent market adjustment approved in this year’s budget, every county employee received an automatic 3.9 percent compensation increase as suggested by the county administrator and approved by the board.

In a 2014 article published by Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM.org), entitled Responding to Minimum-Wage Hikes, Mic Fleming, President of YessHR–a Portland-based Human Resources consulting firm– said, "I know of no employers who institute across-the-board increases, more typical are adjustments at the lower end of the range, to maintain a previously established gap between job levels or functions."

Lane Transou, a Houston-based compensation and benefits consultant, was noted as advising, "You don’t have to adjust all levels, but consider adjusting lower-paid jobs from a certain hourly rate on down."

Although the SHRM article is several years old, the points made by Fleming and Transou still make sense today. The average base annual salary of a Manatee County employee is $38,000, or $18.27 per hour, already exceeding both the 2021 minimum wage requirement of $10 an hour as well as the projected 2026 required minimum wage of $15 an hour. The average employee making $18.27 an hour would receive 71 cents more per hour when the combined 1 percent market adjustment and 2.9 percent minimum wage adjustment was applied to their compensation, but the county administrator with a salary equal to $95.67 per hour would see an increase of $3.73 per hour–or $7,761 annually.

It is difficult to understand how an administration that regularly declares itself "fiscally conservative" did not recognize the significant and unnecessary expense in responding to Florida’s minimum wage requirements with such a blanketed, non-targeted approach. A more conservative process might have included targeting specific employees for a wage increase who are paid an hourly rate that is below the anticipated 2026 minimum wage of $15 an hour, and perhaps those employees just above them.

When calculating the increase from his contracted salary to his current rate of pay as provided on the Allocated Position Listing report, it does appear that Hopes was a recipient–like every other employee in the county–of the combined across-the-board compensation increase of 3.9 percent. Whether or not the unique inclusion of the "Minimum Wage Requirements" section as described in the FY22 Budget qualifies an additional "cost of living" increase–and despite his contracted salary of $199,000 far exceeding any risk of non-compliance with Florida’s minimum wage requirements–perhaps falls into a gray area.

As mentioned, per his contract, the county administrator is eligible for the budget-approved cost of living increase–if one is recommended and approved–but the county administrator is "not eligible for any merit pay or bonus unless expressly approved by the board." It seems clear that the minimum wage increase of 2.9 percent to all employees' pay levels would not qualify as a "merit bonus," however, the 1 percent was the only increase described as addressing market rate competitiveness. More specifically, the two rate increases are listed under different title descriptions within the budget and are described as separate compensation adjustments led by different considerations.

Under Section III "COMPENSATION" in the last line of paragraph 3 in his employment contract, the county administrator may be subject to performance-based compensation increases as approved by the board. "Based upon such performance reviews, the administrator’s base annual salary may be adjusted by the Board." It is relevant to note that (hypothetically) if the board were to consider a salary increase upon performance review, a 5 percent pay increase based on Administrator Hopes’ contracted salary of $199,000, would provide a new base salary of $208,950. However, at his current compensation rate, after having received the combined 1 percent market adjustment and 2.9 percent minimum wage increase, an additional (hypothetical) 5 percent increase would bring his salary to $217,099. The larger the base salary or hourly rate, the larger the increase per each percentage point multiplied.

In mid-December, TBT received through a public record request the Conditional Offer of Employment form for Deputy County Administrator Robert Reinshuttle. Reinshuttle was hired on June 28, 2021. Reinshuttle’s base salary upon hire was $175,000–or $84.135 per hour–but despite only being employed with the county for roughly seven months, according to the Allocated Position Listing, his hourly rate adjusted to $87.42. Exactly 3.9 percent.

TBT reached out to the County’s Clerk’s Office, Payroll Department, and County Administrator Hopes for an explanation of the noted discrepancy between his contracted salary vs the Allocated Position Listing report, but did not receive a response. We also reached out to the county’s financial management department for confirmation of our understanding of the FY22 budget language and to confirm that regardless of current pay rate or whether their pay was at risk of not meeting the minimum wage requirement all county employees received the combined 3.9 percent pay increase, but we had not received a response by the time of publication. We have a pending request for the total dollar amount that was spent by the county in order to meet a 3.9 percent increase to every employee under the county commission and will update our reporting when that public information is finally made available to us.

Based on the math, the FY22 budget message, and public records, it appears that all county employees, regardless of their length of employment, or type or rate of pay–and including the county administrator–received a 3.9 percent compensation increase in October of 2021 as recommended by the county administrator. Whether or not they were a five-figure employee or six-figure employee, determined whether they received an increase of 40 cents or more per hour, or up to three dollars or more per hour. For County Administrator Hopes–the county’s highest-paid employee–the increase meant his contracted salary equivalent of $95.67 an hour increased to an adjusted salary equivalent of $99.40 an hour.

Dawn Kitterman is a staff reporter for The Bradenton Times. She covers local government and entertainment news. She can be reached at dawn.kitterman@thebradentontimes.com.