PORT CHARLOTTE — Charlotte County commissioners voted Monday to officially accept Dave Gammon’s resignation as the county’s Economic Development director.
Commissioners voted unanimously to name Kay Tracy, the office’s business recruitment manager, as the office’s interim manager — with plans to draft a contract for her to serve in the position permanently later.
Chairman Bill Truex urged his colleagues to decisively move forward with plans to formalize Tracy’s appointment, citing her 20 years of experience with the office.
“We have a department that is in shambles,” Truex said during the meeting. “We need certainty at this point in time.”
Commissioners said little about Gammon at the meeting, and Gammon was not present.
Gammon has previously worked for the Economic Development Office as a business recruitment supervisor and was hired as EDO director in 2019.
He resigned from his position in a brief letter Aug. 12, which was made public after it was listed on the agenda online for the Monday budget meeting.
Commissioners did make repeated comments about having concerns with the Economic Development Office’s autonomy and a lack of “information flow” and “team play” with the County Administrator’s Office and the County Attorney.
Vice Chair Christopher Constance brought up his previous comments to Gammon from earlier this year, asking him to make regular updates after he perceived Gammon as continuing to pursue contacts that commissioners told him to stop.
“The coordination wasn’t there,” he said.
Tracy was present at the meeting, and emphasized she would be certain to maintain communication with county administration and the commissioners about the EDO’s efforts.
“I’m committed to this county and this board,” she said.
The commissioners also debated an emergency ordinance that would put a county charter amendment on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election.
The EDO previously been a department head, reporting to the County Administrator instead of the Board of County Commissioners directly.
In 2011, county voters approved a charter change that instead made the EDO director an independent office that could speak directly to the commission.
Commissioner Ken Doherty, who took part in the 2010 charter commission that led to that referendum, proposed another referendum be offered to voters to reverse that change.
He noted the change had been spurred in part by an “overreaction” to the excesses of a previous EDO director, who was ousted from the position before the vote even came.
Commissioners Joe Tiseo and Stephen R. Deutsch expressed hesitation about putting that proposition on the ballot with just two months’ notice, especially given that it was not needed to get the process of appointing Tracy started.
“When I think of an emergency, I think of a hurricane ... an earthquake,” Tiseo said.
County Attorney Janette Knowlton clarified the “emergency ordinance” was meant to allow the referendum to be placed without a 10-day notice people.
Due to the fact that Gammon resigned in August, and the County Commission had no other meeting aside from the Monday budget hearing, waiving the 10-day notice would be the only way to get the referendum on the ballot. Otherwise, it would have to wait until the 2026 general election.
The emergency ordinance required at least four votes to be adopted. It was ultimately defeated 3-2, with Tiseo and Deutsch dissenting.
Despite the disagreement about the ordinance, all commissioners expressed high hopes for Tracy stepping into the director role.
After the meeting, Tracy told reporters she aims to focus on building “healthy economic environment” that would lay the ground work for companies to set up in Charlotte County.
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