There were sixty two applications submitted for the position of City Manager for North Miami.  Nineteen of the applicants submitted letters and resumes, which you can view by clicking here and here.  Thirty seven of the candidates submitted their applications online, which you can view by clicking here.  I was advised that several individuals who applied after the December 31, 2015 deadline have been disqualified, which could be the reason the list has now been whittled down to 56 applicants.

At the last council meeting, the Mayor and Council decided that each of them will choose four names from the list and submit their choices at the January 26, 2015 council meeting.  What they do from there is anyone’s guess.  We’ll have to wait and see.

I spent the better part of this afternoon reviewing the first nineteen candidates who submitted hard copies of letters and resumes.  The first things I looked for was the level of education they achieved and their experience in public administration.  Beyond that, I also researched the various municipalities in which each candidate had lived and worked so that I could envision how each of their individual talents might benefit the City of North Miami.

In the final analysis, of the nineteen resumes I reviewed, five applicants stood out from the rest of the group.  These are (in order of submission):

John Ketteringham III, Winter Park, Florida Pop. 29,203
Education:
Bachelors in Public Administration UCF
Masters Public Administration/Minor Urban and Regional Planning FSU
Masters Business Administration/Minor Finance UNF (U North Florida)
Published A Management Guide to IDAMIS (Integrate Drug Abuse MIS) written under contract with Teledyne Brown Engineering for the National Institute on Drug Abuse-
Public Sector Work Experience:
Budget Management Officer, Lakeland, Florida 1979-1981 Pop. 100,710
Director OMB, Alachua County, Florida 1981 Pop. 256,380
Special Assistant to the Mayor/Chief Administrative Assistant, City of Jacksonville, Florida 1982-1991 Pop. 821,784
Assistant County Administrator, Escambia County, Florida (Pensacola) 1992-1993 Pop. 305,817
General Services Director/ACM, Winter Springs, Florida 1994-1997 Pop. 33,282
Private Sector Work Experience:
President of International Environmental Technologies, Inc. (Winter Park/Boca Raton) 1997-2004
Coldwell Banker, Commercial Agent, Altamonte Springs, Florida 2004-2007
Central Florida Landbrokers, Senior Commercial Development Specialist, Winter Park, FL 2007-2013
Consultant to National Standard Finance, Marketing and Business Development for P3 to governments, utilities, private sector for projects from $5 million to $1 billion, 2011-July, 2014

Timothy M. Boland, AICP, EDFP, MBA, Steubenville, Ohio Pop. 18,659
Education:
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Masters Business Administration, Capital University, Columbus, Ohio
Masters of City and Regional Planning, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Public Sector Work Experience:
Program Planner and Planning Intern, Ohio Department of Development 1981-1985
Planning and Zoning Administrator, City of Powell, Delaware County, Ohio 1990-1991 Pop. 184,979
Planning and Zoning Administrator, City of Perrysburg, Ohio 1992-1999 Pop. 20,623
Economic Development Director, Delaware County, Ohio 1999-2007
City Administrator, City of Pataskala, Ohio 2007-2013 Pop. 14,962
City Manager, Steubenville, Ohio 2014-Present
Private Sector Work Experience:
Chemical Mortgage Co., Management Training/Loan Payoff Department, 1985-1987
Checkfree Corporation, Corporate Account Executive, 1987-1989
Ohio Dental Association, Director of Marketing, 1989

Camilla J. Moore, Atlanta, Georgia Pop. 4,975,300
Education:
Bachelor of Science in Political Science
Masters in Public Administration
Public Sector Work Experience:
Fulton County, Georgia: Pop. 996,318
Senior Planner/Planner II 1986-1996
Assistant Director, Planning & Economic Development 1996-2001
Division Chief: Director of Community Development and Tax Incentives Programs, Office of the County Manager 2001-2007
Director of Planning & Community Development, Riverdale, Georgia 2010-2015 Pop. 15,134
Assistant City Manager/Director of Community & Economic Development 2015
Private Sector Work Experience:
Executive Director of SCCD, South Carolina Governor’s Office of Economic & Community Development 2007-2008
Director of Planning & Economic Development, Caram & Associates 2008-2010
Moore & Associates: Urban Planning & Economic Development Consultants 2015-Present

David E. Scott, P.E., Coconut Creek, Florida Pop. 52,909
Education:
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, University of Maryland
Masters of Engineering, University of Maryland
Licensed Professional Engineer
Public Sector Work Experience:
Department of Public Works, Baltimore, Maryland Pop. 322,973:
Civil Engineer, III, II, I 1985-1989
Chief, Water Facilities Engineering Section 1989-1995
Acting Chief, Inspection Section 1995-1997
Acting Chief, Construction Management Division 1997-1998
Deputy City Engineer, Department of Public Works, Highland Park, Illinois 1998-1999 Pop. 29,763
Deputy Mayor for Operations, Mayor’s Office, Baltimore Maryland 1999-2001
Commissioner, Department of Public Works, Atlanta, Georgia 2003-2008 Pop. 4,975,300
Director, Department of Public Works, Baltimore, Maryland 1008-2010
City Transportation Engineer, Department of Public Works, Norfolk, Virginia 2011-2012 Pop. 246,392
Assistant County Administrator, Pinellas County, Florida 2012-2015 Pop. 938,098
Assistant City Manager, Operations, Delray Beach, Florida 2015-Present Pop. 65,055
Private Sector Work Experience:
Vice President, AECOM/DMJM + Harris/Metcalf & Eddy, Baltimore Maryland 2001-2003
Chief Executive Officer, David E. Scott, P.E., Management Consulting, Baltimore, Maryland 2010-2011
Senior Partner, Scott, Hammond & Hammond, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia 2015

Mark A. Kutney, AICP, ICMA-CM, Wellington, Florida Pop. 59,860
Education:
Bachelor of Arts in Urban Affairs, Wilkes College
Master of Regional Planning, Pennsylvania State University
Master of Public Administration with Honors, Florida Atlantic University
Public Sector Work Experience:
Research Analyst, Department of Planning and Development, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Pop. 41,200
Assistant Executive Director, Department of Planning and Development, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 1978-1982
Senior Planner, Current Planning Division, Sarasota County, Florida 1982-1984 Pop. 390,429
Planning and Development Director, Greenacres, Florida 1984-1991 Pop. 37,573
Community Development Director, Titusville, Florida 1991-1995 Pop. 43,761
Director of Growth and Management, Hallandale Beach, Florida 1995-1999 Pop. 37,113
Development Services Director, Town of Davie, Florida 1999-2007 Pop. 91,992
Acting City Manager, Belle Glade, Florida 2008 Pop. 17,467
Deputy City Manager, Belle Glade, Florida 2007-2011
Town Manager, Loxahatchee Groves, Florida 2011-2014 Pop. 3,000
Private Sector Work Experience:
Planning and Management Consultant, Diversified Planning Consultants, Lake Worth, Florida 1985-1991

Of the nineteen resumes I reviewed so far, these five were the most impressive.  This is not to say that there aren’t some excellent candidates among the remaining fourteen.  Some “honorable mentions” (in order of submission) include:

Dr. George A. Stalliard of Coral Springs, Florida, with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, a Masters in Management Science/Human Resources Management and a Doctorate in Business Administration/Human Resources Management.  Dr. Stalliard has been the Dean of Business Affairs in the North Campus of Broward College since 2007, and had previously worked for the School Boards of St. Lucie and Lake Counties, as well as the City of Lauderhill.

Christopher D. Steers, MPA, CFM, of Rye Brook, New York.  His education includes a BA from the University of Miami and a Masters in Public Administration from Nova Southeastern University.  Mr. Steers has had an extensive career in the local public sector, including four years as the Assistant City Manager for Miami Gardens, seven years as the Director of Code Enforcement and Licensing in Sunny Isles Beach, a year for Miami-Dade County Team Metro and four years with Miami-Dade County Department of Public Works.  He has been most recently employed as the Village Manager for the Village of Port Chester, New York since 2012.

Dr. Kendrick J. Pierre of Pembroke Park, Florida, is currently Vice President of a company in the private sector, but is also an Adjunct Professor of Public Finance, Public Budgeting and Public Sector Statistical Analysis for Masters of Public Administration students.  Dr. Pierre also served as the Community Redevelopment Agency Director for the City of Hallandale Beach from 2006 to 2008.

James Jackson of Richmond, Virginia, who was most recently employed as that city’s Interim Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of Operations.  Before that, he was the Director of Public Works for Richmond, as well as for the City of Detroit, among others.  His education includes a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University.

Larry Spring, Jr., CPA, current Finance Director for the City of North Miami, and formerly the Chief Financial Officer of the City of Miami, has also applied for the job of city manager.  His previous experience also includes positions in the private sector, including Managing Director of a consulting company, Vice President and Controller of TotalBank from 1997 to 2003, and as Accounting Officer for Peoples National Bank of Commerce from 1996 to 1977.  Mr. Spring also held financial positions in two banks in New Orleans, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management at Tulane University.

Also being considered for the position of city manager is the current Interim City Manager Arthur Sorey.  While I realize he is the “preferred” candidate of at least one council member, and that he has also been employed by the City of North Miami since 2003, he has only worked in the office of the City Manager as its Deputy since July of last year.  It is my opinion that Mr. Sorey simply does not bring enough managerial experience to the table as compared to some of the more highly qualified candidates who have also applied for the position.

All of the remaining candidates, which include an Air Force veteran and a former Marine, among others, have impressive resumes.  However, I don’t believe many of them have enough of the experience or education in public administration that is essential for the position of a city manager for the sixth largest municipality in Miami-Dade County.

I have only reviewed nineteen of the fifty six applications so far.  In the coming days, I will continue to examine the remaining applications and follow up with my commentary accordingly.

In the meantime, I urge the Mayor and Council to at least consider the five candidates I listed so far before deciding on their final four choices by the next city council meeting.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”