Sarasota County commissioners praise county administrator

The Sarasota County Commission evaluated the board’s two employees, the county administrator and the county attorney, at Wednesday’s commission meeting.

Administrator Tom Harmer received praise from all of the commissioners on his first year as administrator, especially for his work on the budget presentation in July and his improvement of staff morale.

“There’s a confidence level when staff comes to the commission or your office that I haven’t seen in a while,” said Commissioner Christine Robinson.

She said she hoped as Harmer moved past “putting Band Aids” on problems and moved into more planning that he would be able to administrate more rather than solving ongoing problems.

County Attorney Stephen DeMarsh received similar praise for his work with legal matters concerning the county.

“I’ve served on this board with 2 county attorneys, and your style, your demeanor, couldn’t be more different from your predecessor,” said Commissioner Nora Patterson. “You provide at the board table when asked and when needed, quiet, clear analyses, and that is much appreciated. You provide excellent legal rep in court when we’re challenged… which unfortunately happens relatively often.”

The commissioners did suggest than DeMarsh could improve on the turn around of information, and improve the county’s leases and contracts.