Praise, but no raise in Volusia County

By Al Everson
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Dec 28, 2009 - 10:32:42am

Lavish in their gratitude for work well done, Volusia County Council members suppressed their customary pre-Christmas generosity and applied the no-pay-raise policy to the county manager and the county attorney.

The council did, however, find a clever way to reward County Manager James Dinneen, by extending his severance pay in the event of his departure.

’Twas the week before Christmas, when the council heaped praises on Dinneen and County Attorney Dan Eckert. They kept in check the usual tendency to match words with extra dollars.

“Sorry, Jim, no raise this year,” Council Member Andy Kelly said.

Kelly and his colleagues nixed pay hikes this year for rank-and-file employees of the county government, even though Dinneen’s proposed 2009-10 budget had included a 2-percent boost in wages and salaries.

Council members cited the depressed local and national economies, and bleak forecasts for the immediate future — as well as growing numbers of their constituents who are out of work or working for less money — as reasons for deleting the raises.

The group of seven reluctant Scrooges gave glowing marks in their annual professional-performance evaluations.

“I wish I could give you a big raise,” County Chair Frank Bruno told Eckert. “I want you to know that I appreciate the work he does.”

Bruno thanked Eckert for his working long hours.

“Dan — the second-best attorney,” said Council Member Josh Wagner, who is also a lawyer.

Eckert responded to the good will.

“Thank you for your rewards. It’s a great pleasure to serve you,” Eckert said.

He credited his assistant attorneys and other workers in the Legal Department for helping him excel.

“The staff is very high caliber,” Eckert said.

As for Dinneen, Bruno said the County Council had “made the right decision in bringing you on.”

Council Member Jack Hayman rated Dinneen as “probably one of the best managers in the country.”

Bruno said he had formerly touted Dinneen as “the Tiger Woods of government administrators,” but he dropped that analogy following the scandalous bombshells about Woods in recent weeks.

Like Eckert, Dinneen insisted on sharing the praise.

“Without a good staff, you’re nobody,” the manager said.

Unwilling to end the meeting without doing something for the county manager, Bruno proposed the County Council follow Holly Hill’s recent example.

Holly Hill recently granted its manager an extra month of severance for each year of service, up to a maximum of 12 months of severance. Two members — Vice Chair Joie Alexander and Kelly — opposed the longevity incentive.

“No one in this organization got a reward this year,” Alexander said.

The motion to expand Dinneen’s severance was approved 5-2, with Alexander and Kelly dissenting.

Bruno said he had discussed the severance offer with Dinneen before the meeting. Bruno noted Dinneen had not asked for it.

“I really feel bad now, because he asked me not to bring it up,” Bruno said after the less-than-unanimous vote.

In any event, Dinneen can still look forward to an annual salary of $220,562, while Eckert’s pay will remain at $181,165.

— al@beacononlinenews.com

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