County Commission Reneges on National Search, Makes Hopes Permanent Administrator

BRADENTON – At Tuesday's meeting, Manatee County Commissioners voted 5-2 to transition interim County Administrator Scott Hopes' status to permanent, despite previous promises to conduct a national search.

Hopes, who was installed by developer-funded commissioners after they successfully removed Cheri Coryea following last November's election, was sworn in on a one-year interim basis on April 1 at a base salary of $187,000 plus significant additional compensation. His new contract will bump his base salary to $199,000.

In the runup to Hopes' appointment, the board took great pains to explain to the public that there would be a national search near the end of his interim term and that, while Hopes would be free to apply for the position, a wide net would be cast in order to ensure the county was getting the best available candidate.

As such, some commissioners were displeased with the fact that just five weeks later, the board moved to abort that plan and anoint Hopes to the post. Commissioners George Kruse (R-At-Large) and Reggie Bellamy (D-Dist 2) cast dissenting votes on Tuesday.

Bellamy read the definition of a "doozie" and said he saw three of them in this ordeal, the first being the board hiring Hopes for a one-year contract and then changing his status to permanent less than two months in. Bellamy also reminded commissioners that when Hopes was selling himself for the position, he said he'd do the job "for free" and was now already taking a raise. Bellamy's third "doozie" was failing the public on the commitment to do a national search.

Commissioner George Kruse said he didn't understand why the county would essentially pay more for the same services Hopes is already under contract for. Because the contract still gives the county an out via a 30-day notice with no severance, Kruse argued that it was little more than taking a word off of Hopes' title and giving him a raise before he's even been in the position for 90 days.

A major concern expressed by several commissioners throughout this process has been Hopes' current status as an elected member of the school board, a role he committed to stepping down from when he was hired. When the issue resurfaced Tuesday, Hopes said that the process took time and wouldn't begin until he gave Governor DeSantis notice of his intent to resign, so that the governor could begin the process of selecting his replacement. It was agreed in the final motion that Hopes would submit his resignation for the school board to the governor by June 2.