The Villages Daily Sun

BUSHNELL - From a list of 20 applicants, Sumter County Commissioners chiseled 12 potential candidates for the county administrator's position. The current administrator, Bernard Dew, will retire in July 2006.

The job is advertised to pay between $110,000 and $135,000 for a county of 562 square miles with a population of approximately 70,000, 215 employees and a total budget for the coming fiscal year of $90 million.

Tom D. Freijo, Ph.D., senior vice president of The Mercer Group Inc., was commissioned to head the interview process and designed a list of desired qualifications by interviewing commissioners. He received some 50 applications from across the United States, and interviewed about 30 of them before presenting his list of 20 possible administrators to the board.

The board narrowed that list to 12. Their selections include:

€ Bradley Scott Arnold, county administrator of Whitfield County, Ga., and intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy Reserves. Since taking his post in 2001, Arnold has managed more than $90 million in infrastructure projects, including a new courthouse, jail and fire station, among other construction.

€ Billy Beckett, executive director, Coosa Valley Regional Development Center, Rome, Ga. Beckett's background includes six years as county administrator of Franklin County, Va., two years as county administrator of Raleigh County, W.Va., and posts as county manager of Fayette County, Ga., and city manager of Riverdale, Ga.

€ Dan Bishop, current city development director for Sterling Heights, Mich., which has a population in excess of 127,000 people spread over 38.2 square miles. From 2000 to 2004, he served as assistant and acting city manager of Sterling Heights. He also has managed the Michigan cities of Mount Clemens and Otsego.

€ Kevin DeFebbo, county manager of Schenectady, N.Y., which has a budget of $240 million. From 1994 to 2002, he was the county administrator of Wyoming County, New York, and has held posts as borough manager, city manager, treasurer and planner.

€ Doug Enevoldsen, chief of staff for the Oklahoma House of Representatives in Oklahoma City. He is a senior financial executive who spent a year as city manager of Kingfisher Okla., and has several years' experience as deputy director of state finance, state comptroller and legislative fiscal director of Oklahoma.

€ Ron Gabrielson, county administrator of Freeborn County, Minn., since 2001. Gabrielson has experience with agricultural counties and was a private business owner and productivity consultant for 10 years. He served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force.

€ Al Greishaber, interim city manager of Indian Rocks Beach, with a population of 5,200 and a budget close to $8 million. He has also been city manger of Sanford, with a population of 46,000 and a budget of $54 million. He was a city attorney for Albany, Ga. Minneola City Council voted Tuesday night to offer Greishaber the city manager's position there.

€ John Ives, installation commander (CEO) and general courts martial convening authority for Fort Meade, Md., the largest federal employer in the state. He has also been an environmental SuperFund manager, master planner and senior policy advisor and executor for workforce privatization.

€ Wendell Johnson, city manger of Clewiston with a $41 million operating and capital budget. He also was city administrator for Chipley, city manager for Graceville and planner for Crestview. He has 15 years of local government experience.

€ Charles Saddler, county administrator for Jefferson County, Wash., with a population of 27,000 occupying an area of 1,800 square miles. He established the first council-manager form of county government in the state of Washington. He also has been a city manager and town manager for Polk City, Fort Meade and Cape Charles, Va.

€ Mike Stewart, city manager for Barstow, Calif. He has also been the city manager for Yucca Valley, Calif., and chief executive officer for Marine Air Ground Combat Center, 29 Palms, Calif., and CEO of the 4th Marine Division. He spent three years as regional director for the U.S. Department of State.

Freijo will now gather more information on each applicant and submit his findings to the board. The board is due to make its final decision by Oct. 29.

Christine Giordano is a reporter with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9071, or christine.giordano@thevillagesmedia.com.