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Posivach Could Be Named Interim Port Richey Manager

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: December 16, 2008

PORT RICHEY - Former Tarpon Springs City Manager Ellen Posivach could be named interim city manager of Port Richey.

The Port Richey City Council voted 3 - 2 Monday night to let City Manager Richard Reade go once his one-year contract expires, on Dec. 26.

Mayor Richard Rober voted with Councilmen Phil Abts and Steven O'Neill to not renew Reade's contract. Councilmen Mark Hashim and Perry Bean wanted to keep Reade.

Hashim wondered if the council might be violating Reade's contract by not giving him a proper performance evaluation. In a letter on city letterhead e-mailed Tuesday afternoon, Bean declared Reade was being run out of town by a "demented lynch mob."

READE

Reade had not yet responded as of early Tuesday afternoon to messages requesting comment on council's decision to end his tenure as city manager.

Last night's "contentious" special meeting had been more difficult for him than even the hotly debated canal dredging issue, Rober said. The meeting lasted for about four hours, breaking up at about 11:30 p.m.

Reade conceivably could hire an attorney and challenge the council's decision in court, the mayor speculated this morning. There is no other form of appeal open to Reade, Rober said.

The search for Reade's replacement could start next week, Rober said today.

"At this point it looks like we're going to set up a special meeting next Monday," Dec. 22, Rober remarked. The next regular council meeting won't be until Jan. 13, he noted, since the council decided to scrub the regular meeting that ordinarily would have fallen on Dec. 23.

More than likely, the council will appoint an interim city manager, Rober said. Posivach, the assistant city Manager, might be a candidate for the interim post, he said.

POSIVACH

Reade hired Posivach, the former city manager of Tarpon Springs, in October to supervise city redevelopment projects. Posivach ended her nine years as Tarpon Springs city manager in late April, after the City Commission began a search for her replacement.
Tarpon Springs commissioners had become critical of Posivach's management style and suggested she was spending too much time out of town. Posivach said she had become a target of the city's political old guard because she would not do its bidding.

Following the naming of an interim manager, the city manager's position would be advertised, Rober said. A committee would then look over candidates and interviews would follow.

The new city manager's salary would be based on experience, Rober said. Reade was earning about $80,000 a year, plus benefits.

"It's going to take a few months, to say the least," Rober said of the city manager search. "We're fortunate we've got a lot of senior staff" with a lot of experience to handle the city's affairs during the interim period.

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