The FCCMA Podcast

Former Atlantic Beach City Manager Jim Hanson understands better than most how much stress city and county managers experience. In this episode, he talks about preparing for retirement, being an FCCMA Senior Advisor , and what to do if you ever expect to be a manager in transition (according to Jim, you should expect to!)

Assistant City Manager Craig Radzak has been with the City of Sanford for 31 years. He transitioned to city management from the fire department, and in this episode, he talks about an incredible program Sanford instituted that helps proactively care for the health and safety of residents.

Port St. Lucie Deputy City Manager Teresa Lamar-Sarno is an expert on CRAs. In this episode, she explains where to start if your city is interested in a CRA, what they benefit, how they impact neighborhoods and what some of your biggest challenges may be.

Dan Kleman (Tallahasseeians will recognize that name from Kleman Plaza in downtown Tallahassee) has had a long and storied career in city management. He covers the dynamics of local politics and how it has changed the role of city managers. Dan currently lives and works part-time for Port St. Lucie, where he plays a part in union negotiations.

Safety Harbor Fire Chief Josh Stefancic covers how employee recruitment has changed over the last 30 years, especially in the emergency medical services space. He discusses establishing clear expectations for employees, intentionally and purposefully meeting with their crew to get feedback and the rapidly changing landscape of the EMS profession.

Join us for a special episode – our first ever with two guests! ICMA Executive Director Mark Ott and private sector consultant and ICMA volunteer AC Gonzalez discuss the critically important topic of mental health in the city and county management profession, its unique challenges and the future of workplace mental healthcare.

Marco Island City Manger Mike McNees believes the one thing that defines him as a leader is total transparency. The central theme that guides everything he does is continuous improvement. Mike is always asking, how can we do better tomorrow than we’re doing today? It’s not the goals that matter – it’s the habits that count.

Our FCCMA Podcast guest for this episode is Tim Hemstreet, County Administrator of Loudoun County, Virginia. Tim is the immediate past president of the National Association of County Administrators and worked in South Florida for part of his career. He discusses building and developing teams, breaking down silos, and the differences between working in Virginia vs. Florida.

2022 Fall Symposium Keynote Daniel Rosemond joins the FCCMA Podcast to talk about his recently released book, The Death of the Public Servant. He and Steve discuss pay equity in public government vs. the private sector and affordable housing.

Meridy Semones has an unusual but important role as  Largo's performance and budget director. While Largo has historically been known as a pass-through community, Meridy and her team have a strategic goal for Largo to be known as a community  in which people want to live, raise their families and run their businesses. She discusses  ensuring every investment you make hits multiple s...

City of Arcadia City Administrator Terry Stewart knows you don’t get things done without competent people to do them. The better the people you have working for you, the more effective and efficient your city will be. Join us as we talk about home rule, rodeos and the importance of tacos.

On this episode of the FCCMA podcast, we went all the way across the country to Moorpark, California! City Manager and past ICMA President Troy Brown believes there is no better way to understand and implement good policies than community engagement. He recommends sitting down and listening to people, understanding what’s important to them and what they value, and creating policies that directly a...

Dr. Robert Lee is a senior fellow at ICMA with extensive experience in local government and is currently a professor in the Political Science Department at Florida Gulf Coast University. He and Steve discuss the importance of building culture and credibility when starting a new position, formulating a strategic plan, and the power of transformational leadership and setting expectations.

If you could take all the knowledge from all the City Managers and County Administrators and squeeze it into one brain, that’s who our guest is! Lynn Tipton, Director of the Florida League of Cities University, joins Steve in this special episode of the FCCMA podcast. She shares her insights and understanding of city government and what it means today in Florida.

Doug Baber assumed the role of City Administrator of Mexico Beach in 2021, three years after the City was nearly destroyed in Hurricane Michael. Doug shares his experience in this interview recorded shortly after Hurricane Ian caused devastation on the west coast of Florida.

Leon County Administrator Vince Long is this year’s ICMA Career Excellence Award recipient. Vince talks with Steve about being patient to see long-term successes and how this field of work is incremental and punctuated by moments of opportunity that you have along the way.

This episode features City of Palm Coast City Manager Denise Bevan. She focused on Ecology in college and began her professional career at an environmental consulting firm in St. Augustine. In 2007 she began work with the City of Palm Coast, which recruited her because they wanted someone on staff specifically focused on the environment. Bevan helped develop a land development code for the city.

During Hurricane Michael, 92% of buildings in Panama City were destroyed. City Manager Mark McQueen discusses his 36 years of service in the army, how his experience has helped him serve in city government and the revisioning and revitalizing of a city fresh from disaster.

Join us as we discuss retired public manager and author of Ethical Leadership in Challenging Times Merrett Stierheim’s accomplished management career and his perspective on making ethical choices through the scope of local government.

Town Manager of Sneads Lee Garner is the oldest active town manager in Florida and has much to show for his tenure and accomplishments. His advice to listeners and anyone in town leadership is to get to know your council members and let your staff know you wouldn’t ask them to do anything you wouldn’t do.

A man of many locations and even more experiences, Randall Reid, joins the FCCMA podcast to discuss his journey through both the county and city levels throughout the past 50 years. From Ohio to Wyoming to Florida, Reid discusses his current role at ICMA, including providing professional development, ethics training and how they support local managers and their jurisdictions.

Jacksonville Beach City Manager Mike Staffopoulos joins the FCCMA podcast this week to discuss the transformation of Jax Beach through strategic planning, the draw to the area, and what is to come. All the dynamics involved in urban development with a stable infrastructure are also discussed.

Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie, has more than 30 years of experience in public safety and emergency management. In this episode, Kevin covers emergency management preparedness for local governments in tangible, practical, and actionable terms.

Beginning her career as a city planner in Little Rock, current Gulf Breeze City Manager Samantha Abell joins the podcast to share what she’s learned from her years in the field. The City of Gulf Breeze is four square miles but is located in Santa Rosa county, the fourth largest growing county in the state. Sam believes city management is all about managing people and personalities.

Naples City Manager Jay Boodheshwar joins FCCMA this week to discuss what it is like as a first-generation immigrant working in city management. He also shares his experience as former Deputy City Manager for the town of Palm Beach, home to Mar-a-Lago and its most famous resident.