Hunzeker Leaving "Sooner Rather than Later

BRADENTON – On Tuesday, Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker told county commissioners that he hoped to transition out of the position this spring, despite a recent contract extension that extended his services until January of 2020.

"After 51 years of government service and 12 years as county administrator, I want to tell you I am planning to retire," Hunzeker told the board. "I want to work with the new chair to develop a transition but it’s going to come sooner rather than later."

In February, the board voted to extend Hunzeker's contract until January 29, 2020. At the same meeting, they also scrapped a prescribed timeline to find Hunzeker's replacement before that date, agreeing instead to consider an annual extension each year, indefinitely.

At the time, commissioners lauded his leadership as essential. That relationship began to sour a bit, however, when commissioners were angered by the administrator ignoring their direction to engage despondent citizens on a proposed 911 radio tower that plagued the board with community backlash for months. Hunzeker was reprimanded for the issue in October, with the board citing a "failure to exercise professional judgment." At the next meeting, he saw his spending authority reduced.

Hunzeker has served as Manatee County's administrator since 2006. He was in the state's DROP program and scheduled to retire in 2013 when the board offered him an expensive and controversial five-year extension.