Manatee Is Hiring: Vaccine Site Worker, County Administrator

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — If you’re looking for work, dust off your resume. Manatee County is hiring for what are, arguably, two of the most important positions in the area: vaccine site field worker and acting county administrator.

As COVID-19 vaccine distribution ramps up in the county, Manatee is hiring for vaccine site field workers at Tom Bennett Park or the Manatee County Public Safety Center, according to a Manatee County government Facebook post.

These positions pay $20 an hour, the post said, and workers are outdoors (in all weather conditions) on their feet. Duties include directing cars and checking paperwork, among other assignments.

Masks are required at all times while working with the public and hours are usually Monday through Friday, with some weekends, with 24 hours advance notice of a shift. Workers could be scheduled anytime between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. for a minimum of eight hours, the post said. Overtime is available.

Those interested in the position should email their resume to Kate Barnett at kate.barnett@mymanatee.org.

Around 4,500 seniors registered in the county’s vaccine lottery system were contacted Thursday about vaccination appointments scheduled Monday through Thursday at Tom Bennett Park, according to a news release from the county.

The county will open a second vaccination site at the Public Safety Center, the news release said. Notifications for 5,100 appointments at this site will go out Monday.

Manatee County is also hiring an acting county administrator after four Manatee County Board of County Commissioners pressured former County Administrator Cheri Coryea to step down last month.

The person who takes on this interim position will hold it for one year while the BOCC seeks a permanent replacement for Coryea. Karen Steward, the deputy county administrator since 2019, has temporarily taken on the role through March 23.

Manatee County shared the job listing on its Facebook page Friday as it undergoes a national search for an acting county administrator.

“Nothing will disqualify the acting administrator from applying to be the permanent administrator,” according to the post.

The salary for the position will be negotiated with the BOCC and comes with full benefits.

“The acting administrator will be responsible for the oversight of 12 county departments, which includes 1,900 employees and an annual net budget of $740 million,” according to the Facebook post. “The position will work collaboratively and strategically with the Board of County Commissioners to carry out policies approved by the Board. The Board is seeking applicants who bring vast experience in the private sector, as well as senior management experience in local or regional government.”

Learn more about the position and how to apply here.

Initially, the BOCC only planned to consider a handful of people for the position – including Manatee County school board member Scott Hopes, former Manatee County schools’ superintendent Rick Mills and Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance president and CEO Dom DiMaio – the Bradenton Herald reported.

At Thursday’s BOCC meeting, though, commissioners voted 4 to 3 to launch a national search for the position. Commissioners Reggie Bellamy, George Kruse, Misty Servia and Carol Whitmore voted in favor of opening up the search, while commissioners Vanessa Baugh, James Satcher and Kevin Van Ostenbridge voted against it, reports said.

A new slate of commissioners came in with a mission of replacing Coryea in November. First-time commissioners Satcher, Van Ostenbridge and Kruse, joined by Baugh, who was sworn in for her third term and has also been under fire recently for her involvement in an elite pop-up vaccine clinic open only to wealthy residents, led the charge to fire Coryea at the Nov. 19 commission meeting and voted in favor of her dismissal.

Van Ostenbridge proposed her termination, and he, along with Satcher and Kruse, had only been in office for 50 hours at the time. Commissioners Reggie Bellamy, Misty Servia and Carol Whitmore voted against letting Coryea go.

At the commission's Jan. 26 meeting, Kruse motioned to revisit Coryea's termination, which the commission supported in a 4 to 3 vote. Bellamy, Servia and Whitmore were the "no" votes.

At that same meeting, Kruse admitted to an extramarital affair and accused Whitmore of using that information to blackmail him. Whitmore denied the accusation and has since retained a lawyer.

Commissioners were scheduled to discuss Coryea's future with the county at a special meeting Feb. 17, but that was canceled to allow her and her attorney time to negotiate a separation agreement with the county.

They approved a severance package for Coryea worth about $204,000 in a 6 to 1 vote at their Feb. 23 meeting.