What Grade Would You Give The Town Manager?

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Fort Myers Beach Town Manager Andy Hyatt has been on the job for one year. On May 6th the Town Council will evaluate Hyatt’s performance so far. That evaluation will be held out in the open at the council meeting. Here’s how the Council will grade Hyatt.

Each council member has been given a form with a list of ten skills they are to grade Hyatt on. They can grade him from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).

The 10 performance categories are:
Individual Characteristics
Professional Skills and Status
Relations with Elected Members of the Governing Body
Policy Execution
Reporting
Citizen Relations
Staffing
Supervision
Fiscal Management
Community

Hyatt was hired April 17th after the town council fired previous Town Manager Roger Hernstadt and hired Keith Wilkins as interim Town Manager while they searched for a permanent replacement. Hyatt’s contract runs through April of 2025. His salary is $197,000. The contract calls for the Town Council to review Hyatt’s performance every April.

You can read Hyatt’s contract HERE.

19 COMMENTS

  1. Compared to Roger it’s not even close! The people on the staff have had to absorb a lot of peoples pain while most of them have the same issues from the storm. It’s been great to have him come in fresh and remove some of the knotted up messes and put procedures in place to promote progress and remove the minutia that has slowed the town down for decades. Any change now would most definitely put us at a major disadvantage.

  2. I can’t believe how people are commenting regarding his salary. Do you what is job entails? Small town? It got smaller because of Ian. The man stepped in after incompetency at it’s highest….(re)building after devastation never seen before.

  3. Town Manager rating:

    Firstly, a lot of my information comes from articles or videos on BTR and is noted below, but my own direct experiences are also identified.

    Individual Characteristics: I have texted, emailed, and spoken directly with Andy on several occasions and he has always replied promptly. He seems very dedicated to the Town’s needs, regardless of the day or time.

    Professional Skills and Status: He is a manager who I consider very good at his job. $197,000 per year might be a tad high but compared to the golden hand um shake that a previous town council gave the previous town manager, I think we are getting our money’s worth.

    Relations with Elected Members of the Governing Body: Watching interviews with Dan and Jim on BTR, they seem be very happy with Andy’s performance.

    Citizen Relations: See above. I give him top marks, especially compared to the previous town manager, (whose name shall never cross my lips or keyboard). Granted that was a pretty low bar.

    Staffing / Supervision: I think his handling of the harbor master issue was excellent. The guy made a mistake, but instead of owning it and fixing it, he lied and got his staff to also lie and cover it up. I also would have turfed him out in a heartbeat. Andy’s action showed strong leadership, despite all of support the previous guy got from BTR’s Facebook articles. He lied and therefore lost all trust.

    Fiscal Management: Andy had the foresight to hire a financial director. ‘Nuff said.

    Community: Getting rid of the previous administration was such a relief for most of us who were / are recovering from what was probably the worst day in our lives. The interim town managers started us off on the very rough road to recovery and Andy had continued with strong leadership. The vibe in the community has been one of strength, hope and positive energy.

  4. Interesting comments about his Salary. that is not a crazy salary since he is doing this for a city that was just hit by a hurricane where past Town manager could not perform. He has alot more responsibilities then what a Traditional town manager may have. This town is rebuilding from the ground up. Give a little grace and realize the amount of work that is needed. I think he is doing well based on the current circumstances.

  5. Keep him lower his salary and get rid of the town co uncle. Together they have placed roadblocks for most everyone trying to rebuild. Thanks Mike

  6. I have had the privilege of talking with Mr Hyatt about rebuilding my home of FMB. I found him to be attentive, understanding and considerate. Given that this island was leveled and the separate concerns of everybody, I applaud Mr. Hyatt for his efforts. We should all support him as we rebuild.

  7. We are fortunate to have Andy as our Town Manager. The culture change with staff, the open minds trying to help your particular situation, and his positive interactions with our Town Council have been more a breath of fresh air. They are a welcome relief.

    • Les in your expert knowledge of town matters and in today’s $20 fast food worker environment what would you say is a fair salary for someone managing Florida’s worst natural disaster? Just curious as to your vast experience in wage knowledge

  8. Andy Hyatt is a breath of fresh air compared to the town manager he replaced. He is an excellent communicator and a strong leader in addition to possessing a long list of desirable qualities — he is respectful of others, he listens, he is very accessible and open minded and he works with the town council as a teammate. Andy is a credit to the town and hopefully here as our town manager longterm.

  9. Previous Councils did not do this and were supposed to do so. Kudos again the THIS council! And kudos to Andy in his first year on the job!

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