MANATEE COUNTY – Efforts to fire County Administrator Cheri Coryea have prompted objections and procedural concerns should the commission decide to terminate her from the position.
Newly-elected commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge, George Kruse and James Satcher, along with Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, voted unexpectedly on Nov. 19 to begin termination procedures against Coryea, who has worked for the county for more than 30 years.
Reactions include County Commissioner Misty Servia’s Nov. 23 email regarding Coryea’s possible termination, sent to several upper-level county staff members.
“I would like to add an item to the Dec. 15 agenda. In order to prepare for the possible firing of our county administrator on Jan. 6, I would like to understand the succession plan so that county business continues with limited interruptions. Below are the items I would like for our board to discuss to prepare for the possible termination of Administrator Coryea:
- Do we have a succession plan that is a part of the ordinance that establishes the county administrator position?
- Who will be appointed in the interim until a permanent county administrator is hired?
- If one of the deputy county administrators is appointed as interim county administrator, will we need to appoint an interim deputy county administrator? If so who will that be?
- Are there any other potential gaps in the organization that need to be considered to ensure seamless government operations?
- What process is envisioned for hiring the next county administrator? Will the public be involved?
- Are there any changes planned to the county administrator job description?”
County resident Shane Wedel emailed County Commissioner Carol Whitmore regarding Coryea’s potential severance pay.
“I have been looking at Ms. Coryea’s publicly available contract. I noticed that Section II, 1, b, (2) indicates that Ms. Coryea would be due a severance payment for being let go without cause to be paid within 10 business days after the effective termination date. Her contract stipulates that this would be 20 weeks of her pay plus accumulated leave payouts, which for such a long-standing employee is likely to be substantial,” Wedel wrote.
“This information would certainly be important for the public and for the rest of the board of county commissioners to be aware of. Hopefully, the newer members are aware of this stipulation in her contract. I believe the public deserves to be aware of this ‘responsible’ use of limited resources if it (Coryea’s termination) becomes reality,” Wedel wrote.
Whitmore referred Wedel’s comments to Human Resources Director Kim Stroud.
County Attorney Mickey Palmer distributed an email on Nov. 25 to county commissioners and others regarding the potential termination process.
“This is information that I will be prepared to share with the BCC at the Board’s December 15 meeting. But there is no time like the present, I suppose. By copy of this reply to personnel in both Human Resources and Payroll (a division of the Clerk’s Office), I am asking them to run the calculations with a projected termination date of Jan. 6. My preference would be that the folks in Payroll and HR be of one mind on the calculations, and that the calculations be forwarded to me as promptly as they are completed.”
Also on that date, Manatee County Government Agenda Coordinator Diane Vollmer distributed an email to county commissioners, Coryea and several other staff members regarding the Jan. 6 discussion.
“Inasmuch as there is a legislative delegation meeting scheduled in the Longboat Key Room at the Convention Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 6, the special meeting to vote to terminate the county administrator’s contract has been scheduled for that afternoon from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. In the event the meeting is not concluded at that time, it will be continued to 5 p.m. on Jan. 7, following the land use meeting,” Vollmer wrote.
League of Women Voters supports Coryea
League of Women Voters of Manatee County President Alice Newlon sent Whitmore an email on Nov. 27 stating the League’s position on the proposed termination.
“The League of Women Voters has actively worked supporting good governance for the last 100 years. We oppose the actions taken by the four county commissioners (Vanessa Baugh, George Kruse, James Satcher and Kevin Van Ostenbridge) at the Nov. 19 meeting where they: 1) improperly brought up and voted on, with no public notice or notice to their fellow commissioners, significant changes to county operations; 2) came with and passed a resolution allowing the commission, by majority vote, to ignore procedures designed to allow public notice and input and 3) voted to initiate the termination of Cheri Coryea, without notice, without cause and without any forethought of the community repercussions,” Newlon wrote.
“We hear that those who voted to terminate the administrator want to run our county like a business and take the county in a new direction. However, county government has a different structure and purpose than that of a business. As a business, making a profit is the primary goal.
“In contrast, a county government operates any services, not for profit, but for the well-being of its citizens. The similarity? Both businesses and government retain high-performance employees. What they normally do not do is fire without prior warning, using a weak excuse.
“A recent decision to remove our county administrator during an already precarious time in the life of our community – the disruption of COVID-19 – is destabilizing and serves to create increased uncertainty.
“The loss of Manatee County Administrator Cheri Coryea would be a great loss to our county, considering her excellent work and high ratings by her supervisors and praise from those who worked with her.
“As an employee for over 30 years, she served in a number of positions, doing well for the county, its communities and its citizens, always improving what she found. She has been called the best county manager in the state.
“We urge you to return to the procedures that have created a government allowing for proper research, planning and notice.
“We also urge you to reverse the rash decision to terminate Cheri Coryea and instead take the time to reassess, in collaboration with the many entities of this community, and develop a long term strategy that will help all of Manatee County and its residents continue to thrive, ” Newlon’s letter said in conclusion.
