Sunset Official Puts Family First: Administrator Leaves Questions at Gig in Florida
By Jason M. Rodriguez, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Nov. 11–Family ties drew the new Sunset Beach Town Administrator back to his native state after only eight months in a Florida job with a higher salary.
Gary Parker, who succeeds 30-year veteran Linda Fluegel, will take the Sunset Beach post in January, making $25,000 less than the $120,000 he made in Fort Myers Beach, Fla.
“I’m leaving for family reasons and personal reasons,” he said. “Money isn’t everything. Family and personal reasons are more important than that.”
Town officials in Fort Myers Beach said no one from Sunset Beach contacted them to find out about the 60-year-old. Sunset Beach Mayor Ron Klein couldn’t be reached for comment on Friday.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dennis Boback said Parker had been for sliding raises for staff employees in a different line item of next year’s budget after council members voted not to approve the raises.
Parker said Fort Myers Beach continues to go through growing pains 12 years after incorporation and that the council knew the raises were included in the budget before it was approved.
Boback said he understood why Parker cited family reasons, given that his wife never moved from North Carolina to join him in Florida. He said the town and Parker were “not an exact perfect fit.”
Parker has family in Columbus and Pender counties in North Carolina, both of which border Brunswick County.
Parker obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida State University and a master’s degree in public administration from N.C. State University. He worked as an assistant town manager, human resources director and town manager in Newington, Conn.; North Lauderdale, Fla.; and Holden Beach, respectively.
Parker then spent seven years as town manager of Stanley, N.C., and six years as city manager of Archdale, N.C., before heading to Fort Myers Beach in February.
Town officials there, learning of Parker’s job in Sunset Beach through calls from The Sun News, want to know when he will start so as not to keep him on the payroll there. His last day there is Jan. 4, according to his resignation letter. An interim town manager has been appointed to start Nov. 26, according to a report in the Fort Myers Beach Observer.
Boback said the council had voted not to approve merit and cost-of-living allowance raises for next fiscal year, but found out in October that employees received the raises anyway.
“They were left in the budget in salaries and wages, and the council approved the budget as it stood,” Boback said. “I don’t think it was a prudent thing to do.”
He quickly added: “I appreciate Mr. Parker and the time he’s worked here.”
Parker said he looks forward to helping Sunset Beach battle growth issues and a pending lawsuit regarding the proposed 65-foot bridge from the mainland to the island.
“I’ve always enjoyed that kind of challenge, which is why I’ve been in this career for 30 years,” he said. “I’ve come to love it.”
He described himself as a strong advocate of treating people with respect, being open minded, getting input from other people and working with interest groups in the community.
“It’s a great feeling in the morning to get up and go to work,” he said. As for retirement? “I think this will be my last job, but I think that’s several years down the road.”
Contact JASON M. RODRIGUEZ at 910-754-9868 or jrodriguez@thesunnews.com.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
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