Temple Terrace City Council Hires Interim City Manager Following Officials' Arrest, Firing

TEMPLE TERRACE, FL — After a tumultuous start to the new year that included the arrest of the city's community development director and the firing of the city's city manager, the Temple Terrace City Council swore in an interim city manager Wednesday afternoon as it seeks a return to normacy.

The interim city manager, Steven Spina, is a senior consultant with Imagine That Performance, a consulting company focused on local government leadership. The Temple Terrace City Council approved a contract with Imagine That Performance at its regular meeting Feb. 15 to provide an interim city manager and leadership transition team as the city searches for a permanent city manager.

The council terminated the contract of former City Manager Charles Stephenson Feb. 1.

Spina served as the city manager for Zephyrhills for 20 years, retiring in 2019. Last year, after becoming a consultant for Imagine That Performance, Spina spent three months as the interim town manager for Kenneth City.

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"I am committed to providing the directors and staff of the city of Temple Terrace with the transitional leadership and support they need while allowing the city council to conduct a nationwide search for the next city manager without unnecessary time pressure," Spina said.

"Dr. Spina and the Imagine That team will ensure that the city continues to provide all of the services and oversight that our residents expect and deserve, while the council and I go through the process of finding a new, permanent city manager," Temple Terrace Mayor Andy Ross said. "But rather than simply maintaining business as usual, we are looking forward to making our city even more amazing under his leadership."

Spina currently serves as a visiting instructor at the University of South Florida in the School of Public Affairs' Master of Public Administration program. He previously was an adjunct and visiting instructor at USF, in both the MPA and criminal justice programs.

Among the courses he has taught are Ethics and Public Service, Labor Relations, Research Methods, Policy Analysis, Strategic Planning and Introduction to Public Administration.

Spina received both an undergraduate degree in mass communications and an MPA from USF. He also has a master's degree and doctorate in political science from the University of Florida.

He is a member of the Florida City-County Manager's Association and serves as a board member for the Suncoast Chapter of the American Society of Public Administrators and the International City-County Management Association.

Spina is also a member of Pi Alpha Alpha, a public administration honorary society.

Under the contract with Imagine That Performance, Spina will receive assistance from a leadership transition team that includes Michelle Lee Berger, former town manager of Sewall's Point, Florida, and Lynne Ladner, former city manager of Hart, Michigan.

Ross said the team, headed by Spina, will bring stability to the city's government, which has been rocked by controversy in recent years.

In March 2020, the city's former mayor since 2017, Mel Jurado, resigned after she was accused of falsifying her educational credentials.

Jurado, who used the title "Dr." in front of her name, purported to be a licensed psychologist with a doctorate from LaSalle University in Mandeville, Louisiana.

In 2018, however, the city learned that LaSalle University was a "diploma mill" that had been closed down by the FBI in 1996, just after Jurado received her "degree."

She resigned after the Florida Commission on Ethics began an inquiry to consider sanctions against her.

Ross stepped in as interim mayor and was later officially elected to the position.

Less than two years later, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement launched a criminal investigation into Community Development Director Amir Anisi in August after receiving a complaint from city officials that Anisi had hired an unlicensed contractor to complete concrete renovations at the city's racquetball court.

The investigation shows that Anisi influenced a competitive solicitation by providing non-public information to one vendor with whom he had a personal and professional relationship. With the information Anisi provided, the vendor won the bid for the project.

In addition, Anisi hired the vendor for a concrete project at his home. When the job was complete, he told the vendor that he expected a reduced price as a favor for giving the vendor the job renovating the raquetball court.

A day after Anisi's arrest, the city council voted to terminate Stephenson's contract.