Final Candidates To be Interviewed For New Space Coast Office of Tourism Executive Director Position

By  //  January 12, 2019

Five finalist to be interviewed on Monday and Tuesday of next week by Brevard county managers

Brevard County Manager Frank Abatte and Assistant County Manager Jim Liesenfelt will interview five candidates for the position of Space Coast Office of Tourism Executive Director on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

BREVARD COUNTY • VIERA, FLORIDA – Brevard County has announced the five finalists being considered as the new executive director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism.

Brevard County Manager Frank Abatte and Assistant County Manager Jim Liesenfelt will interview the five candidates on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

The five shortlisted candidates include Edward CaumPeter CranisAlfredo Gonzalez, Gary Pearce and Susan Phillips.

After the initial interviews, two or three of the five candidates will be invited back on Thursday, January 24 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for a Meet and Greet with the members of the Brevard County Commission and of the Tourism Development Council.

That meeting will take place at the Brevard County Government Center.

The final selection for the position will be made by Brevard County Manager Frank Abatte and his staff.

The candidates were located and recommended by the recruitment firm, Searchwide, which was the company selected by Brevard County management to locate suitably qualified candidates.

CLICK HERE to see the position overview for the job and the criteria used by Searchwide to locate suitable candidates.

Eric Garvey served three and a half years as executive director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism and abruptly resigned his position in July 2018 to take a job as Chief Operating Officer with Bob Baugher’s Hotel Group, which owns the Four Points Sheraton in Cocoa Beach, the Quality Suites Hotel in Cocoa Beach and the Radisson Resort in Cape Canaveral.

Garvey, who was paid $128,546 annually by Brevard County at the time of his resignation, was the highest-paid department head in Brevard County government.

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Below are the positions and current salaries being paid to Brevard County department heads:

• Airport Manager: $82,776.20
• Budget Director: $108,043.78
• Central Services Department Director: $98,035.08
• Emergency Management Office Director: $94,209.18
• Fire Rescue Department Director: $107,311.10
• Housing & Human Services Department Director: $95,652.70
• Human Resources Office Director: $106,127.06
• Information Technology Department Director: $108,276.74
• Library Services Department Director: $93,868.32
• Mosquito Control Department Director: $73,461.18
• Natural Resources Management Department Director: $104,527.02
• Parks & Recreation Department Director: $103,500.02
• Planning & Development Department Director: $ 107,319.42
• Public Safety Office Director: $108,043.78
• Public Works Department Director: $98,221.50
• SCGTV/Communications Office Director: $77,699.18
• Solid Waste Management Department Director: $109,145.14
• Transit Services Director: $91,762.58
• UF/Extension Services Director: $87,074.81
• Utility Services Department Office Director: $104,527.02
• Tourist Development Director (Interim) $90,970.88

The Brevard County Tourist Development Council was established to promote growth, development and quality of tourism on the Space Coast.

The Brevard County Tourist Development Council consists of nine members appointed by the County Commission that oversees the Tourist Development Tax (Resort Tax), a 5 percent tax on the total rental amount collected from every person or other party who rents, leases, or lets for consideration living quarters or accommodation in any hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort motel, apartment, apartment motel, rooming house, mobile home park, recreational vehicle park, or condominiums for a period of 6 months or less.

This tax, which is projected to generate $15 million this year, is collected by the Brevard County Tax Collector and is in addition to the 7 percent State of Florida Sales and Use Tax remitted to the Florida Department of Revenue.

Bonnie King is acting as the Brevard County Tourist Development Council’s interim executive director until a replacement is selected. She is scheduled to retire in June 2019.

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CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS