Advertisement

Largo commissioner: City leadership is stale

 
Evaluations of Mac Craig, 79, generally praised him on his personal integrity.
Evaluations of Mac Craig, 79, generally praised him on his personal integrity.
Published July 30, 2015

LARGO — This city's leadership is perceived as "stale" and wedded to status quo thinking that leaves many residents and employees wondering why they should try to be creative, concludes one Largo commissioner.

The remedy, Commission Samantha Fenger said, is for the city manager to encourage "bolder, quicker action on items that won't jeopardize the city, more out-of-the-box thinking."

Fenger, who was first elected to the commission in November, made her comments as part of her evaluation of City Manager Mac Craig. Fenger said in the evaluation that she found it "very concerning to me that the (city manager) may express different views depending on the audience. I prefer an outspoken view so that commission can chew on it and decide which direction to go."

Fenger added, "Reputation comes with perceptions — longevity which is also viewed as 'stale' leadership. Things won't change because people are ingrained in the system. Leaves some employees and the public feeling, 'why try?' "

Craig declined to comment about the evaluation.

For the most part, the seven-member commission found little fault with Craig's performance. He received an overall 4.1 out of 5, which equates to "good to excellent" performance. That's slightly lower than his rating of 4.78 on last year's evaluation.

Most commissioners praised Craig.

"Mr. Craig continues to be a hard working and dedicated city manager," Mayor Woody Brown wrote. "He maintains an excellent team and strives to ensure that the direction of the commission is fulfilled. Mr. Craig has good communication with the commission, the public and the administrators of other area governments and agencies."

Commissioner Jamie Robinson praised Craig's integrity.

"As I have stated in previous evaluations, Mr. Craig's integrity is a defining trait," Robinson wrote. "I know that, in all dealings, Mr. Craig has the excellence of the city at the forefront."

At the other end of the scale was Commissioner Curtis Holmes who ranked Craig as "unsatisfactory" in areas of integrity/fairness and liaison/coordination. Holmes had called for Craig's ouster early this year as part of the fallout from a dispute over racy downloads that had been found on the commissioner's city-owned laptop. In his evaluation, Holmes listed Craig's "strengths" as "an extraordinary ability to justify almost any actions."

Commissioner John Carroll, who also was elected in November, worked under Craig when he was police chief. Carroll said he was tailoring his evaluation to the eight months he'd been in office. He praised Craig's dedication, personal integrity and care for his employees. Craig's main weakness, he said, is the manager's reliance on and trust in people who "do not share his work ethic or dedication to public service."

But Carroll reserved his harshest criticism for the public format of the evaluation, saying, "The basic leadership principle of praise in public and punish in private is lost, and the evaluation can deteriorate to become either a 'gotcha' or a superficial review."

Keep up with Tampa Bay’s top headlines

Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter

We’ll deliver the latest news and information you need to know every morning.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

Craig, 79, has worked for Largo since 2000 and earns about $154,000 a year.