You have to be kidding me! Barrow County Manager Mike Renshaw turns down the Palmetto Bay Manager position

I have to say that this is a shockingly new low. Barrow County Manager Mike Renshaw was offered the most lucrative employment package ever offered by Palmetto Bay officials. Yes, that is right: the highest ever. Yet, this was not enough. Palmetto Bay officials (and those who were following this process) went to bed after the July 13, 2020 village council meeting (that actually ran past midnight, so into July 14) thinking that Palmetto Bay had agreed to terms for the next Village Manager. Apparently the money was not enough. With sunrise on July 14, 2020, the news began to circulate that Manager-Select Mike Renshaw had decided to reject Palmetto Bay’s offer and Palmetto Bay. The council spent well over an hour bickering over Renshaw’s final contract at that council meeting. Many of us want to know what happened behind the scenes. Why, after being offered the most lucrative employment contract ever, did the manager-select not put pen to paper to commit, but instead bolted like a spooked horse from a burning barn? Or, were Mayor Cunningham and the rest of the council simply played?

Better now than days, weeks or months into the job. I don't know whether this reads like a script from “The Runaway Bride” or “Bad Date Chronicles." Either way, it is neither entertaining nor good for the reputation of Palmetto Bay.

An article is posted online with the Barrow News-Journal (you must be a subscriber to pass through the paywall to read the full article).
It was reported that Barrow County manager Mike Renshaw will remain with the county for now after talks for him to become the new manager for the Village of Palmetto Bay, Fla., fell through Monday night.

… he said Tuesday that contract talks had broken down and he was no longer interested in the position.

He had been scheduled to begin work in the incorporated village in Miami-Dade County on Aug. 1. 

   ***   ***   ***Renshaw said he had told the Barrow County Board of Commissioners about his candidacy and kept them informed on the negotiations with Palmetto Bay. 

“I’m happy here, but if an opportunity arises that looks interesting and would be a challenge, that’s something I will look at,” Renshaw said. “I’ve got a good working relationship with the board here and that’s crucial to any manager’s tenure.”

The above does not read like a candidate that could be, or should be, persuaded (translation: "begged) to accept the Palmetto Bay Manager’s position. 

I remain proud of what I (along with so many others) worked so hard to build here in Palmetto Bay and believe that the position of Village Manager is one of high esteem. It should only be offered to someone who really wants the position with no holds barred. We need someone who is tried and true, dyed in wool Palmetto Bay Blue!

This is the "Brittany Spears" council - as this latest episode can be titled: "Oops, I did it again" Failure to close. Back to the drawing board. 

FAIR QUESTIONS:

• Did the Village dodge a bullet when the top pick for Village Manager withdrew?
• Who will be blamed for this latest stunt?
• Where do the Mayor and Council go from here? Move on to candidates 2 & 3? Or do they scrap the prior process and start over.
• Do the Mayor and Council suck up any semblance of pride and beg him to reconsider, tossing more money, more perks or what ever it takes to land this fish?
• This is a problem with going far outside the area to bring in candidates. One has to wonder whether this was all a ploy by the manager-select to negotiate a better deal with his present job. 
  
• Was this actually orchestrated behind the scenes to enable some yet to be discovered player to bring in a dark horse candidate who did not go through the executive search process?

Unfortunately, it appears that the article put out by the Palmetto Bay News is going to sit out for the next two weeks, edition running from July 14 - 28, 2020, as an in our face article about what could have been. Not today! Read the Community Newspapers online: Palmetto Bay selects new village manager, by Gary Alan Ruse -July 12, 2020