There was a shake-up in the county as Scott Hopes resigned his position as county administrator. It appears that certain county commissioners had become disenchanted with Hopes and were determined to terminate his contract. The position of county administrator is difficult on a good day as you are responsible for a billion dollar budget but you must also deal with politicians who sometimes get focused on minor issues.
Most county administrators who serve for lengthy terms do so because they join the bureaucratic army and focus on spending money while ignoring the taxpayers.
Scott Hopes has made a career of tackling problems and reducing bureaucratic waste. (If you don’t think there is a lot of waste in our budget, you are gullible). This is not a trait that makes everyone happy. Sometimes you must deliver harsh medicine to save a patient’s life. Politicians, as a rule, do not enjoy administrating hard medicine.
Hopes came on board in April of 2021, at the beginning of the Piney Point fiasco. The Commissioners had for years ignored the Piney Point environmental time bomb. Fortunately, Hopes stepped up and spoke with authority while the nation was looking at our county with its pants down. His calm and educated speech helped us weather an environmental disaster that had been brewing for decades.
Hopes quickly realized that our county government was a textbook picture of disorganization with a backlog of major road projects. Many department heads were in their positions of authority because politicians liked them, not because of their competence. The Utilities Department director was someone without a formal education. In spite of this he was running a $400 million dollar department. Hopes realized that allowing the wrong people to remain in vital positions would ultimately waste taxpayer dollars.
Hopes brought in a leadership team and reorganized the county government in a more efficient manner. The county finances were shored up with the help of the county commissioners and the county regained a AAA Bond rating. Transparency was brought to the county website so residents could determine how their property would be affected by road projects.
$750 million of county money was removed from reserves and deployed to start needed road expansion projects. Staff members were given the management tools to make this happen. New employees were hired to accomplish the goals of the commissioners while at the same time property taxes were reduced.
Surely, Hopes was not without his faults. He sometimes moved forward to make decisions and changes to policy without getting adequate input from commissioners. This ultimately led to the frustration of certain commissioners with Hopes’ management style. Successful business leaders are wired to make things happen and this does not sit well with most politicians.
Hopes will continue to live in this area and will be tapped for more important roles in public or private industry. Hopefully, the commissioners will bring in an administrator who has private sector experience so the work that Hopes started can continue into the future. Choosing an administrator from a nationwide search of government administrators will not benefit the taxpayers of Manatee County.
Bob Spencer
Publisher
Manatee Herald
publisher@manateeherald.com
