- December 12, 2024
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Sitting table side in a coffee shop one block away from his former office, retired City Manager Marlon Brown is a world removed from Sarasota City Hall, all that is astride with managing a city with some 800 employees melting away like sugar in a steaming cup of fresh brewed.
Shedding his workday suit, Brown appears relaxed while clad in shorts and a polo shirt, his fit, slender frame forged in part by both professional and personal stresses of the past year. Those include the death of his ex-wife, a health scare of his own now behind him, and a rigorous fitness regimen.
After 31 years working in local government, all of them in Florida and the last 15 in Sarasota, the 60-year-old Brown, whose next birthday is Jan. 1, is embracing this next phase of life, enthusiastic about the prospects of what he may do next.
For now, though, it’s all about him and his two sons Devon, who lives in Gainesville, and Matthew, who is preparing to pursue a master's degree at Florida State University.
“I don't know how to describe the feeling. It's like an indescribable freedom that it is really hard to explain, but such a relief that someone really has to experience for themselves,” Brown said. “I wake up in the morning and I can walk six to nine miles some days if I don't work out at the gym. What I'm realizing is there's so much to do around the house, the things that you can find to do that were ignored for so long.”
He has no problem describing what he is not missing — a 24/7 obligation to the city.
“One of the things that I realized is not having two phones and not having to check that phone to see what emails have been coming in, getting the calls at two o'clock in the morning because of something that happened, and people coming into the office first thing in the morning,” Brown said. “You fire up your computer and you look at all the emails that you have to respond to. It's indescribable what I'm experiencing right now.”
As he takes his regular long walks throughout the city, Brown no longer feels compelled to observe and report anything he may see that needs addressed. That’s not a reflection of his newfound detachment, but rather in his confidence in the staff he has left behind.
“We have a good government. We have a good organization. The quality service in this community is so high that I know it will be taken care of and I don't have to be one of those individuals who has to call the minute I see something wrong,” Brown said. “I know it will be taken care of.”
Brown had 16 years of city and county government experience under his belt when he arrived in Sarasota as deputy city manager in 2009. He was named city manager in January 2021, replacing Tom Barwin at a tumultuous time when, in the midst of COVID-19, the City Commission accepted the resignations of Barwin, former Police Chief Bernadette DiPino and former Assistant City Manager John Lege.
City leadership was stabilized under Brown. He brought Patrick Robinson from the Sarasota Police Department to serve as deputy city manager and promoted Jim Rieser to chief of police, who served in that role until 2022 when he resigned and was replaced by Rex Troche. Brown also eliminated the position of assistant city manager.
It also came when the city was grappling with an affordable and workforce housing crisis — in part accelerated by the sudden influx of new residents fleeing northern lockdown states and driving up costs — as the city embarked on crafting solutions that met with resistance from some residents concerned about overdevelopment resulting from the bonus density incentives.
Looking back, Brown said the pressures of this and other political decisions were incorrectly foisted upon himself and the staff, some resident activists portraying him a “sixth commissioner” or a dictator.
“Because you're on the losing side of a vote doesn't mean that I have influenced the commission majority in terms of taking a position,” Brown said. “I may advocate for affordable housing. I may say this is something that's good for the city, but I don't get a vote. If someone who came up to the dais is incorrect about the facts, I may call somebody out because of that. Because I called you out doesn’t mean that I am trying to influence. I am not doing my job if I don't correct the record.
“I'll give my position, but at the end of the day, I will say you have to make an informed decision based on the facts given to you.”
A constant barrage from what Brown refers to as a “vocal minority” in the city was one factor in his retirement, although the timing did dovetail with his long-time career plans.
“I actually said when I started this I was only going to do 30 years,” Brown said.
As he approached his 31st year in the fall of 2023, Brown first had conversations with key staff about his impending departure. In spring of 2024, he informed the city commissioners of his intention to retire this year. Then in July he gave his requisite 60-day notice to the commissioners in writing.
“A lot of that had to do with what I was starting to see around myself in terms of my personal life, my ex-wife passing away, friends of mine not fulfilling their lifelong dreams,” Brown said. “So whether it's more time with family, more time traveling, more time experiencing a different job, or the case might be a heart attack or all sorts of physical and mental situations, I didn't want to do that. The stress level of the job was getting to a point where my health was more important.”
When he retired became a matter of appropriate timing. He had considered leaving before the City Commission’s break in May, or July once commissioners adopt the tentative millage rate, or on his anniversary date in July, or after the November election.
“I decided to just split the difference in between,” he said of his announcement.
In his wake he leaves in process two of the potentially highest-cost capital projects in the city’s history: The proposed Sarasota Performing Arts Center and a city-owned workforce housing apartment development across First Street from City Hall.
In the tradition of naming city assets after former city managers, perhaps the apartments named Marlon Brown Towers?
“I’ve never craved the spotlight,” Brown shrugged at that suggestion. “I prefer to let the commissioners talk to the media. I let staff talk to media. If you look back over the years, you can see how many times I have done an interview. It is so rare compared to some city managers who crave that, so having my name affixed to a building, that’s something I don’t really think about.”
As for what is next on his professional agenda, wherever it leads him won’t take him out of Sarasota.
“I love this city,” he said. “I love the progress the city has made.”
He also loves public policy.
“I love the ingredients and the making of the stew,” he said. “I see myself somewhere in that role, whether it's with a nonprofit or a non-government type of organization. Maybe consulting, but more in a public policy-type position. Maybe by the end of the end of December, I’ll start thinking about what role could be to really help the city.”
Help in what way?
“I want to help the city continue to progress to a place that people continue to enjoy, whether they live here, whether they work here, whether they recreate here, or whether they retire here.”
