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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDrago, John - Resume RELEVANT LOCAL GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE Longwood is located approximately ten miles north of Orlando. It is a full service City comprising 5.67 square miles, approximately 65,000 daytime and 14,000 nighttime populations, a total combined budget of $31 million and 157 employees. Duties Chief Administrative Officer of the city reporting to a five member City Commission.. Direct and supervise the administration of all departments, officers and agencies of the City. Enforce all laws, provisions of the City Charter and official actions of the City Commission. Prepare and administer the annual budget and capital program of the City. Keep the City Commission fully apprised of the financial condition and future needs of the city. Negotiate and administer all contracts. Interface with residents and citizen’s groups on community issues. Serve as the City’s primary contact with the media. Achievements Maintained the same operating millage rate for five consecutive years without reducing the level of service in order to balance the budget. Completed a marketing study to determine the demographic, economic and housing trends for the City. Based upon the findings in the study appropriate developers were targeted for redevelopment projects. Developed a Neighborhood Code Compliance District Program. The purpose of the program is to establish standards and regulations that can be selected by each neighborhood to enhance their quality of life. Instead of establishing an in-house Economic Development Department, privatized the function thus avoiding a likely cost of $200,000. The purpose for the privatization was to find appropriate developers for redevelopment projects in the City. Coordinated the development of design plans for a $40 million Transit Oriented Development in conjunction with the City’s Commuter Rail Station. Developed a user friendly performance based Land Development Code which incorporated flexible design standards for all land use categories and eliminated traditional zoning. The code was adopted. Held neighborhood meetings to review street paving, water or wastewater construction plans with affected residents before commencement of projects. The City was able to mitigate issues and revise plans as needed. Developed the Citizen Awareness and Participation Plan. The purpose of the plan is to ensure that developers pursue early and effective citizen participation in conjunction with their developments, giving them the opportunity to understand and mitigate any impacts their development may have on the community. The plan was adopted. Developed a model street design concept in conjunction with a $12 million Neighborhood Revitalization Program, which includes traffic calming devices, wider sidewalks and driveway aprons, drainage improvements and improved landscaping. This new prototype design would instill community pride, improve the community's image and improve the overall value of private properties. Received more than $2 million in grants for street paving, cemetery improvements, median beautification and law enforcement. Created master plans for the city in the areas of the historic district, parks and recreation, cemetery, water and wastewater, drainage and public works facility. Received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association. Winter Springs is located approximately ten miles north of Orlando. It is a full service City comprising 14 square miles, approximately 30,000 residents, a total combined budget of $25 million and 220 employees Duties Acted as the City Manager in his absence. Performed highly responsible administrative work for the City Manager covering all facets of the day to day operation of the City. Supervised various construction projects. Worked directly with City Commission, City Boards and Committees and Civic Groups. Achievements Assisted with the development of a 230-acre town center which will contain a hotel, retail and personal service establishments, restaurants, professional offices and mixed housing. Assisted in the preparation of two grants for the town center totaling $5 million to acquire public space, environmentally sensitive lands and right of ways for public improvements. Developed and published the first citywide newsletter. Assisted with the development and implementation of two assessment districts which provided improved safety and beautification. Coordinated the development and implementation of a “floor offset pension plan”. This plan was a combination of a defined contribution and defined benefit plan. The City was the first and only City in Florida to adopt such a plan. City Administrator, Okeechobee, FL 1986-1997 Okeechobee is located at the northern end of Lake Okeechobee. The City comprises four square miles, approximately 5000 residents, a total combined budget of $8 million and 50 employees. Duties Chief Administrative Officer of the City reporting to a five member City Council. Directed and supervised the administration of all departments, officers and agencies of the City. Enforced all laws, provisions of the City Charter and official actions of the City Council. Prepared and administered the annual budget and capital program of the City. Kept the City Council fully apprised of the financial condition and future needs of the City. Negotiated and administered all contracts. Achievements Maintained the same operating millage rate for six years. The 1995/96 budget had a modest increase and the tax rate was maintained for the 1996/97 budget without a reduction in city services. Built the fund balance from $7,400 in 1986 to $3.8 million in 1997. Designed a $2 million downtown economic revitalization project and received a $575,000 community development block grant that was used to paint all buildings and install new signage on storefronts. This community-based project utilized a peer review process to provide the citizens, business community and city staff with a mechanism to design and implement a successful project. Inherited a $500,000 deficit in Public Utilities, and eliminated it within nine months. This accomplishment utilized employee empowerment, best management practices and maximizing economies of scale when purchasing goods and services. Implemented a $5 million refinancing plan that achieved a $680,000 total cost savings. Effectuated a $17 million Public Utilities Capital Improvement Program that achieved additional capacity in water and wastewater for approximately 20 years. Supervised the construction of a $2.7 million water treatment plant and other various capital construction projects. Received a $575,000 community development block grant for expansion of the water system. Implemented and completed a $2 million master road resurfacing and construction plan that achieved having all city streets paved. Funding came from gas tax revenues. Designed and implemented a $1 million master neighborhood sidewalk plan. Upon completion, all residential sections of the city will have sidewalks. Funding came from gas tax revenues. Privatized a wide range of services that resulted in an annual cost savings of over $100,000 and improved the quantity and quality of services to the city. Examples of services that were privatized were: data processing and accounting, street sweeping, grounds and turf maintenance, and animal control. No city employee was displaced by privatization. The first City in Florida to privatize the building, zoning and planning functions which resulted in an annual cost savings of approximately $150,000. Adopted a Uniform Fee Schedule that allowed a developer to pay one permit fee for any construction project. The City placed more than $2.5 million in new construction on the tax rolls within ten months after the privatization of the building and zoning functions. This item was featured in a guidebook as part of a nationwide satellite televideo seminar entitled “Local Government Competing with the Private Sector”, sponsored by The Innovation Group, Inc. Negotiated a voluntary annexation agreement with the Wal-Mart Corporation for construction of a new superstore. Upon completion, the project added approximately $100,000 annually in new revenue to the city budget and provided 250 jobs for the community. Directed and coordinated the development of the city’s land development regulations. Introduced performance zoning and design standards for commercial development in the business corridor. Introduced various growth management legislation that was adopted into law. Implemented the Single Salary Plan. The plan consolidated positions, compensated all like positions equally regardless of time in position, eliminated steps in positions, created job enlargement, enabled the city to control personnel costs and reduced turnover by 95%. The city realized annual savings of more than $100,000. This pay plan was nationally recognized by the Government Services Television Network. Designed and administered a “Re-Sale” Vehicle Program for police cars. This program enabled the city to obtain new full size police cars each year, use them for one year and sell them to other governmental units throughout the state and country. The program realized an annual cost savings of approximately $350,000. EDUCATION Georgia College MBA in Management Georgia College BBA in Management Rowan Technical Institute AAS in Fire and Safety Engineering Technology PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS International City/County Management Association, Full Corporate Member Florida City/County Management Association, Full Corporate Member International Association of Fire Chiefs, Life Member Center for Public Safety Excellence, Vice President