Harmer Appointed Deputy County Administrator

County government now has a second in command in place behind County Administrator Randall Reid.

Reid today selected Thomas Harmer deputy county administrator, conditional upon contract and offer approvals.

Harmer will earn $150,000 in salary and benefits and is expected to start Aug. 20, according to Sarasota County Government.

Harmer has 26 years of experience in local government, including almost eight years as Titusville city manager, where he also was executive director of the Community Development Agency. He also had served as fire chief and emergency manager in Titusville. Prior to that, he was deputy fire chief in Tallahassee.

Harmer received a 25-year service award from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and is an ICMA "Credentialed Manager." He has a masters degree in public administration from the University of Central Florida, where he also serves as the chairman of the Public Administration Advisory Board and as an Adjunct Instructor teaching classes in local government and emergency management.

He also has a bachelor's degree in fire safety and engineering from the University of Cincinnati.

He is past president and honorary lifetime member of the Space Coast Public Management Association as well as a Regional Representative for the Florida Redevelopment Association (FRA), a member of the Florida City County Management Association (FCCMA), and the International City County Management Association (ICMA). 

Additional Appointments

Reid also designated Joanie Whitley as Human Resources Director, Mike Tobias as Emergency Services Director, and Steve Botelho as Chief Financial Planning Officer. They had been serving in interim capacities after Reid was selected as county administrator. 

Botelho joined Sarasota County in 2005 and has been a budget management analyst, fiscal planning manager and general manager. He has bachelor's degree in finance from the University of South Florida. 

Tobias has served as a Captain, Battalion Chief, Assistant Fire Chief and Fire Chief. He has the dual roles of Emergency Services Director and Fire Chief. He has a bachelor's degree in management from International College in Naples. 

Whitley has 30 years experience in human resources and has served as manager and general manager of Human Resources. She is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management and has a Senior Professional Human Resources Certification. She has a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University. 

He most recently has been Senior Vice President of the Pizzuti Companies in Orlando, a high-quality company developing industrial and commercial projects in the Southeast. Harmer assisted and facilitated projects and public-private partnerships to promote economic development, including new industrial facilities and infrastructure adjacent to Kennedy Space Center.