Politics & Government
Manatee County Administrator, Deputy Administrator Named: Officials
Charlie Bishop was named the Manatee County administrator after serving in the role on an interim basis since August.
MANATEE COUNTY, FL — The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners made two appointments to county leadership positions, naming Charlie Bishop the county administrator and Bryan Parnell a deputy county administrator.
Bishop has been the acting administrator since August, after serving as a deputy county administrator for two years, according to a news release from the county.
He started working for the county in 2001 as a project manager. Since then, he’s held various positions, including facilities services manager, infrastructure division manager, construction services division manager and, for nearly 12 years, he’s been the director of property management for the county.
Find out what's happening in Bradentonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The motion to make Bishop the permanent administrator passed in a 6-1 vote. Commissioner George Kruse was the sole dissenting vote.
“Thank you, and I am up for the challenge,” Bishop told the board. “We have a great team."
Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge said, “I strongly feel we found the right person for the job.”
Find out what's happening in Bradentonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
An employment contract will be negotiated with the county and brought back to commissioners for approval at a future meeting.
Parnell is a registered professional engineer in Florida and a certified energy manager. He has a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in engineering project management from the University of Maryland.
He is retiring from the U.S. Navy, where he most recently served as the assistant regional engineer for Navy Region Southeast. In that position, he was responsible for the programming and execution of a $925 million annual budget across 18 naval installations, which include 24,000 facilities and 170,000 acres of property.
“I am excited and thrilled to serve this community as I’ve served the Navy,” said Parnell, who is relocating to the area from Jacksonville with his wife and sons. “Manatee County is the location where we want to settle. This is a great place for us to be.”
His appointment was unanimously approved by commissioners. His first day with the county will be Oct. 16.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
