BRADENTON — At Tuesday's Manatee County Commission meeting, board members voted unanimously to approve an employment contract with Charlie Bishop to be the permanent county administrator. The contract, which was negotiated by County Attorney Bill Clague, makes Bishop the highest-paid administrator in the county's history.
Bishop's contract calls for a base salary of $220,000, along with $22,500 in "deferred compensation," which remains untaxed until it is accessed, presumably when the earner is retired and benefiting from a lower tax bracket. The contract calls for the maximum amount in deferred compensation allowed by the IRS for any given year, and would rise annually as that number is adjusted upward each annum.
Bishop will also receive a county vehicle and all other benefits owed to a county employee. This includes any and all cost of living increases. Because COLA adjustments are authorized as a percentage of salary, Bishop, as the highest-paid county employee, would see much larger increases than rank-and-file personnel. The upcoming 3% COLA recently approved by the Manatee County Commission in its upcoming budget will see Bishop's base salary jump to approximately $226,600 in less than a week.
This is Bishop's first job as a county administrator. Bishop was promoted to Manatee County Property Management Director in 2015 before being elevated to deputy county administrator in August of 2021. When the county parted ways with former county administrator Scott Hopes, Director of Community and Veterans Services Lee Washington was selected to serve as acting administrator while the county conducted a national search for Hopes' replacement.
Washington resigned after filing a whistleblower complaint, alleging sunshine law violations by two members of the board. Commissioners voted unanimously to appoint Bishop as acting administrator upon Washington's departure. By that point, commissioners had already narrowed down a field of applicants for the permanent position. However, after flying four finalists into town for interviews, the board made a last-moment pivot and scrapped the search in favor of making Bishop the permanent administrator.
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WTF
So much for the national search that cost thousands of taxpayers dollars to bring in an "outside" administrator. One well greased developers wheel is now administrator.
Wednesday, September 27, 2023 Report this
nellmcphillips
As if Scott Hopes wasn’t bad enough and now we have an inexperienced puppet of the BOCC. We could have had at least one or two of the people that were interviewed in the appropriate vetting process that the BOCC went through. But no - in their infinite wisdom the BOCC picks another puppet. The only light I see in Manatee County are the folks lining up to unseat these minions.
Wednesday, September 27, 2023 Report this
rjckeuka4
We've now had 4 County Administrators in 3 years and two failed searches. I've had 20 years of executive experience. I'd like to be next in line. :)
Wednesday, September 27, 2023 Report this
Fishhead
Another, in a long line of sad days for our county. This will totally flop.
Wednesday, September 27, 2023 Report this