A Lady Lake commissioner on Monday night pitched an ousted Lake County commissioner to serve as the temporary town manager.
Lake County Commissioner Tim Sullivan lost his re-election bid in August. In a surprise move at Monday’s Lady Lake Commission meeting, Commissioner Dan Vincent suggested the town hire Sullivan for 90 days to serve as interim town manager to fill the vacancy created by the recent departure of Kris Kollgaard, who served in that role for more than a decade.
The town commission had been scheduled to consider a pay adjustment for Thad Carroll, who had been selected earlier this month to serve as interim town manager. But the agenda took an unexpected turn when Vincent raised the idea of hiring Sullivan.
Vincent said he feared Carroll, who serves as the town’s director of growth management, would be spread too thin.
“We’re putting a lot of eggs in one basket,” said Vincent.
Sullivan, who previously served as mayor of Fruitland Park, sat quietly in the audience as Vincent locked horns with Mayor Pro Tem Ruth Kussard and Commissioner Paul Hannan.
“This is quite out of the ordinary,” Hannan said of Vincent’s last-minute recommendation to have Sullivan suddenly step in.
Kussard seemed similarly surprised.
“We have appointed Thad. He has accepted that appointment. We need to move forward,” Kussard said.
The commission opted to boost Carroll’s pay by $1,500 per month while he serves as interim town manager.
The town has engaged a search firm as it looks for a permanent town manager.
