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PSTA board split on CEO Brad Miller's leadership

 
CEO Brad Miller received his lowest score in “organizational leadership.”
CEO Brad Miller received his lowest score in “organizational leadership.”
Published Sept. 3, 2015

Pinellas County's chief transit executive is serving a board of directors divided over his ability to lead.

Some members of the 15-member Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority believe CEO Brad Miller is doing a stellar job. Others have serious concerns and gave Miller low marks in his annual evaluation.

The division was evident at a Monday meeting of PSTA's personnel committee tasked with reviewing the evaluations and making a recommendation to the full board on Miller's future.

A motion to ask for Miller's resignation failed. So did a motion to give him a raise. In the end, the committee voted 4 to 1 to recommend that Miller be evaluated again in six months.

The compromise came at the suggestion of committee member and Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long, who gave Miller the lowest score of all 15 board members. Long said the board should do another evaluation by March 31, focusing on how much progress he has made on the goals the board set after last November's failed Greenlight Pinellas transit referendum.

"Then we make our decision right then and there, and Brad, you need to be prepared for that," Long said as she looked at Miller, who nodded.

Board members ranked Miller in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 5, with 3 considered average or meeting expectations. Out of a possible 750 points, Miller garnered 501, or about 67 percent.

The overall scores ranged from Long's 22 to a perfect 50 from Redington Beach Commissioner Mark Deighton. Due to the variance, Miller's average score in each category indicates he is meeting expectations.

But nine board members scored Miller in the 20s. They include the other three county commissioners who sit on the board — Dave Eggers, Pat Gerard and Ken Welch.

Miller's lowest score came in the category of "organizational leadership."

"Not enough accountability, not enough 'improved performance,' " wrote Largo City Commissioner Curtis Holmes, who gave Miller an overall score of 26.

The overall scores showed a significant decline from Miller's last annual evaluation conducted in the runup to the Greenlight Pinellas vote. By then, Miller had come under fire because the agency was forced to return $354,000 from the Department of Homeland Security because commercials produced with the money as part of a public awareness campaign failed to address anti-terrorism and security efforts as required by the grant.

More recently, an employee alleged that the PSTA staff failed to notify him that a grievance hearing conducted by phone was being recorded.

Committee member Julie Ward Bujalski, who gave Miller a score of 27, noted the declining scores and high level of dissatisfaction to justify her motion to ask for Miller's resignation but keep him in place until a replacement is hired.

"I don't want to kick the can down the road," Bujalski said. "In the best interest of rebuilding PSTA, its reputation and its place in the community, I think we have to respond to what we just saw on our tabulation sheet."

She was the lone vote against Long's motion.

Committee members Wengay Newton and Joseph Barkley III said PSTA has made clear progress since November to develop a plan to make the bus service more efficient and rider-friendly. Both gave Miller high marks and supported giving him a raise of up to 3 percent.

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"I have never seen one, not one, CEO work as hard as this man in all my years of being an elected official," said Newton, an outgoing St. Petersburg City Council member.

In a presentation before the vote, Miller said he has already taken steps to keep board members better informed and respond immediately to issues that arise.

"I am looking to drive accountability in every possible part of the organization, and I'm very proud of the initiative we've taken," he said.

Contact Tony Marrero at tmarrero@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8779.