Naples council has unanimously chosen the city’s next manager.
At a workshop Monday, council members agreed to tap the city’s finance director Gary Young for the job.
He has also been serving as a deputy city manager.
He’ll replace Jay Boodheshwar, who recently announced his retirement from public service, and his move back to Palm Beach County.
There isn’t much the two haven’t been involved in together at the city, so it would make for a smooth transition, Boodheshwar said. In fact, he said, Young has often taken the lead behind the scenes on important matters.
He applauded council’s decision, saying Young’s “40 years in this business,” as a public servant, is “a pretty impressive thing.”
According to his bio, Young joined the city in February 2016, after working as a chief deputy auditor for the city of Canton in Ohio for 30 years. He earned both a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in business administration from Malone University in Ohio.
“Gary Young can be a city manager anywhere,” Boodheshwar said. “He could have been a city manager anywhere many, many years ago.”
With the right candidate right under its nose, he said council’s decision to skip a time-consuming search for his replacement made sense.
He noted the team behind Young is strong, and how a handful of them stayed until the end of a daylong meeting to witness his appointment, with others listening to the livestream on Naples TV, after 6 p.m.
“I think it’s just really important to recognize that you won … You’ve gotten someone great,” Boodheshwar told council.
In Naples, Young started out as deputy finance director. He moved up to director almost four years ago, and he’s served a dual role as a deputy city manager for a little over two years.
He would assume his new job on Feb. 1.
As manager, Young would oversee more than 500 employees, with a budget of $208.8 million this year.
Last month, the city announced Boodheshwar would retire Jan. 31 after more than 2 1/2 years in his post, leaving the public sector, and ending a nearly 30-year career in city government that spanned three states.
The city didn’t share his future plans, saying only that he’s enthusiastic about “this new chapter.” He’s also been secretive, sharing only that his new job in the private sector will take him back to his “roots” in Palm Beach, on Florida’s east coast. It’s where he and his wife lived for more than 16 years and raised their daughters.
Before joining the city, Boodheshwar served as the deputy town manager in Palm Beach.
Mayor Teresa Heitmann took the lead in pushing for Young’s immediate appointment, saying she didn’t see the need to look any further. She said she saw him as the bridge for the next 36 months, at least, to get the city where it needs to go, while she’s still mayor.
Heitmann praised Young for his fiscal responsibility and his ability to analyze complicated financial data and make informed decisions. He’s also “fostered transparency and trust within our community,” she said.
Beyond that, she said, he’s got the interpersonal and relationship-building skills, and the other crucial leadership qualities that make him the right fit for the job.
She emphasized he’s approachable and willing to listen, which has earned him the respect of employees and the community.
Others on council echoed Heitmann’s remarks.
Councilman Ray Christman described Young as a “great choice,” and as a “hugely important asset,” with the amount of trust and confidence other city employees have placed in him.
He suggested the appointment might work out well for Young and the city, suggesting that he may be looking to retire from public service within a few years, coinciding with a change in council leadership, as the mayor and several other elected leaders reach their term limits.
Councilman Berne Barton said he felt the city was extremely lucky to have someone like Young willing to step into the role.
He said Young’s financial knowledge would be invaluable, as the city looks for ways to pay for and proceed with big capital projects, including stormwater improvements and other resiliency initiatives.
Other large projects include the rebuild of the Naples Pier, destroyed by Hurricane Ian.
Councilman Bill Kramer said Young has created a “culture within a culture” in the city, with his strong work ethic and integrity that has endeared him to the people he works with.
It’s nice to know the city will have another really strong leader, when another is “quitting the family,” Kramer added.
He cautioned about working Young too hard, however, and the need to swiftly find someone to take his place as the city’s chief financial officer.
“There’s more backfilling to do, and I don’t want him in a year to say, ‘I’m done with this and here are the keys,” Kramer said.
Councilwoman Beth Petrunoff agreed, saying she’s worried about Young’s workload, too.
She also commented the city would be lucky to have someone as qualified as Young as its new manager.
Vice mayor Terry Hutchison said Young had built a reputation in the city as someone has served with a “steady hand,” during times of great need and stress, while serving as CFO, including response to major hurricanes. In the new role, he said, that could be tested, but he hopes Young will “rise to that,” and meet the challenge of his new responsibilities.
Councilwoman Linda Penniman said Young had weathered more than just hurricanes, including economic turmoil. She called him a “remarkable man.”
“We just pray that you can get through this, and we are certainly willing to make it as easy as possible,” she said.
An interim finance director is expected to be named.
Young thanked the mayor, city manager, and others on council for their kind words, and putting their faith and trust in him.
For him, he said, the job will be personal, as it has been since he’s been in public service. He pledged to “get into the weeds together,” with employees, to get the job done.
“I don’t ask anybody to do anything I wouldn’t do myself,” he said.
He said he was honored and would be privileged to “carry the ball forward” with council to tackle the city’s many issues and projects, including completing a new coastal stormwater management system. Years in the making, the system is designed to reduce street flooding, water pollution and beach erosion.
More:Naples City Manager Jay Boodheshwar to retire in January
If he didn’t believe he could do the job of city manager, he said he wouldn’t have agreed to take it.
“We are going to walk together, we are going to run together, and if we need to debate, we’ll debate. But I’ll always do the best for you,” Young said.
He said his wife of more than 30 years always tells him his staff gets the best of him, but he intends to get through “another 36 months together,” with his promotion.
City council plans to make its decision official at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, with the approval of a resolution.
The details of Young’s contract won’t be finalized, until later, however.
His contract is expected to be retroactively approved at a city council meeting Feb. 5, with time needed to get it right, so it’s not rushed.
“I don’t want to rush anything we don’t have to rush,” Hutchison said.
After a few raises, Boodheshwar earned an annual salary of more than $283,000. His perks included a housing allowance and a city vehicle.
Born in Guyana, a country in the northeastern corner of South America, Boodheshwar was the first immigrant to serve as the city’s manager.
At the workshop, several councilors praised and thanked him for a job well done, although he’ll be around for a few more weeks.
Looking ahead, at the change in leadership, Heitmann said: “Just when you think the sun is going down, the sun rises again.”
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