Melbourne city manager sought job to the south before ouster

Two weeks before losing his job as Melbourne city manager, Michael McNees applied for an open position in the much smaller beachside town of Indian River Shores just north of Vero Beach.

As part of the shakeout from the Nov. 6 election, McNees was ousted during a Nov. 27 organizational meeting of the newly seated seven-member Melbourne City Council when Councilman Paul Alfrey asked for a discussion on the city manager’s contract. Alfrey said he felt McNees was less than truthful with him about applying for the Naples city manager job. Though the public and local business community rallied around McNees, the council voted 4-3 to part ways.

Public records show McNees applied for the Indian River Shores job on Nov. 12, saying he’s familiar with the town, having “logged many miles running the Jungle Trail along State Road A1A.”

McNees rose to the top four of a field of 37 applicants for the job in response to a two-month, nationwide search by Orlando-based consultants at the Mercer Group. Last Wednesday the Indian River Shores Town Council heard a presentation from Mercer Senior Vice President W.D. Higginbotham laying out the best prospects.

Hired by the City of Melbourne in 2012, McNees was included in the finalists not only because of his qualifications and substantial knowledge of Florida government, but because he would be easier and cheaper to interview in person than other candidates from across the country. McNees could also report for work sooner, as he is already unemployed and lives in Grant and would not need to relocate.

Prior to moving to Brevard, McNees served as a comptroller in private industry, then assistant county manager in Collier County, Sarasota city manager, county administrator of Blaine County, Idaho, and chief operating officer and interim chief executive of USA Track and Field at the national office in Indianapolis.

Indian River Shores is a high-end community of about 4,200 full-time residents and includes exclusive gated, country club and golf communities, the largest of which is John’s Island Club. The town is more than 90 percent built out, and is almost exclusively residential, with only a handful of retail shops, restaurants and professional offices. The largest expense in the town’s $6 million budget is its Public Safety Department with 22 officers triple trained as law enforcement officers, as well as firefighters and paramedics. The town also has a postal center, a cemetery and an under-construction community center.

Up until last week, McNees managed 900 employees and a $220 million budget in exchange for a salary of $192,000. The Indian River Shores job offers a salary of significantly less, with a range of $120,000 to $150,000 to start. The Shores Town Council members last week said they wanted to make sure McNees was a hands-on manager, since he would be on the front line every day with very few people to delegate work to. Mayor Tom Slater emphasized that the Shores is seeking a manager who will stay put and be happy in the job long-term.

The council voted to move forward with background investigations on McNees and two other hopefuls from the Midwest – David Strahl of O’Fallon, Mo., and Brian Wilson of Belleville, Wisc.

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