Manatee County Announces Gore's Retirement

BRADENTON – Manatee County Director of Utilities Mike Gore has separated from the county after more than 38 years. It was rumored more than a week ago that Gore had been fired, but an official press release from the county announced Gore’s departure as a "retirement."

Last Sunday, TBT reported that Jake Saur, the director of Manatee County’s Public Safety Department, had been "let go" on July 26. Leading up to the publication of last Sunday's reporting, multiple sources had alerted TBTon Thursday, July 28, that Gore had also been fired.

TBT reached county PIO Bill Logan the same day via email seeking confirmation of Gore's "separation" from the county. Login responded within less than five minutes, telling TBT that he had no information regarding Gore but would make inquiries with HR and let us know what he found out. While Logan never followed up directly with TBT, several days later on August 2, Logan issued an official press release on behalf of the county announcing that Gore had retired.

Although the August 2 press release was the first public confirmation of Gore's departure, TBTobtained a copy of an internal email dated July 29 that tells utilities department staff that Gore's last day with the county was July 28–the same day sources reported to TBT the director had been fired.

The email, written by Deputy County Administrator Courtney DePol, contained similar language as the county's August 2 press release, but DePol did not include any language which described the nature of Gore’s separation from the county.

"Team," DePol began the July 29 email, "I am writing to share that Mike Gore’s last day with Manatee County Government was yesterday."

DePol went on to highly compliment Mr. Gore’s service and knowledge. "Mike has been an essential fixture in our organization, particularly in Utilities, for over 38 years. From his start as a part-time distribution tech assisting with water service installations and broken water lines to his most recent role as Utilities Director–a position he held for nearly 10 years–his unique knowledge of both utilities and solid waste, coupled with his dedication to public service is unparalleled. To Mike’s credit, he also surrounded himself with highly qualified and motivated staff, keeping succession planning at the forefront of his decision-making."

The email offered no explanation as to why Gore was leaving. DePol’s email announced that Jeff Goodwin would be taking over as interim director of the department, and asked staff to join her in welcoming Goodwin and "thanking him for graciously stepping into the role."

DePol concluded the email, writing in part, "I wanted to close this out by saying that we are a team and together, we can overcome all change. Change is opportunity. It’s an opportunity to get to know each other better, to grow, to be challenged, and most of all, to overcome!"

The department of utilities is arguably one of the most complex departments in the county’s organization. Of all the departments in Manatee County, utilities is one that most directly impacts county citizens' daily lives.

Manatee County Utilities provides clean drinking water to more than 400k county residents. The department also oversees the county's wastewater treatment and disposal and is responsible for trash and recycling services in the unincorporated areas of the county. Gore was appointed as director of the department in 2013.

In 2019, Gore was awarded the County Administrator's Award for Excellence by the county's former administrator. The award served to recognize an employee who demonstrated consistent leadership and commitment to the ACE philosophy of "accountability, civility, and ethics."

In 2020, Mr. Gore was credited for his leadership on several projects that would improve the quality of the county's drinking water. One such project upgraded the water treatment filtration process by replacing aging surface water treatment filters with submerged ultrafiltration membranes. Theinnovative projectwas brought forth by Director Gore and his former Deputy Director Mark Simpson. The filtration upgrades were the first of their kind in Florida.

Simpson retired from county government in March of 2021, also having served more than 38 years. When Simpson announced his retirement–like many longtime employees before him–he was recognized in a public meetingand awarded for his service. A tenured employee's retirement has traditionally been recognized in a BOCC meeting where county commissioners and the employee's superior share parting words of gratitude for the retiring employee's service. The employee is then awarded an engraved commemorative plaque of appreciation.

Mr. Gore never appeared before the board to be recognized for his many years of service. Instead, his separation went unconfirmed by the county for several days while rumors circulated that he had been let go before it was finally announced by the county in a press release that he had retired.

TBT reached Gore by phone to seek clarity on his announced retirement, and whether the retirement was planned or spontaneous. Gore declined to provide confirmation on the nature of his departure or to provide TBT with any comment.

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.