Longboat Key’s Tom Harmer retiring, to be replaced by St. Lucie County leader

Olivia McKelvey and Anne Snabes, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·3 min read
Longboat Key Town Manager Tom Harmer.
Longboat Key Town Manager Tom Harmer.

Longboat Key Town Manager Tom Harmer announced his retirement in June, and his successor is set to be the current county administrator for St. Lucie County.

Howard Tipton, the St. Lucie administrator, has signed a contract for the town manager post, according to a recent memorandum from Harmer to the Longboat Key Town Commission. The board is expected on Monday to review Tipton's four-year contract, with its $211,500 salary. He would start Jan. 30.

Tipton, who has been St. Lucie County’s county administrator since 2014, could not be reached for comment on Thursday. He earns $207,168 in his current post.

The population of Longboat Key is nearly 7,600, compared to St. Lucie County's 343,579. On Longboat Key, he would oversee a  $109 million town budget compared to St. Lucie's $615 million county budget.

Tipton, 64, is a graduate of James Madison University and the University of Central Florida.

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Harmer’s departure

Harmer — Longboat Key town manager since December 2017 — earns about $203,000, according to public records. He announced his intention to retire on June 24, according to his memorandum to the commission.

"It just seemed like a great time to finish up my local government career and to do it on Longboat Key," said Harmer, who has spent about 37 1/2 years in the public sector.

His contract term ends on Dec. 10, but he said he may stay until his replacement's start date.

Harmer said that everything he does at Longboat is "the result of a lot of teamwork." During his tenure, the town has worked on a project to move underground all electric and cable lines, which is expected to be substantially complete in December. The town of Longboat Key is also creating a town center, which will be an outdoor venue for town and community events.

St. Lucie County Administrator Howard Tipton addresses the media at a news conference on Saturday, March 21, 2020, to update the public on local testing for the coronavirus. "The big message continues to be, maintain yourselves at home," Tipton said.
St. Lucie County Administrator Howard Tipton addresses the media at a news conference on Saturday, March 21, 2020, to update the public on local testing for the coronavirus. "The big message continues to be, maintain yourselves at home," Tipton said.

At the Town Commission’s July 1 meeting, commissioners discussed the various ways to fill the upcoming vacancy and their desired characteristics for the individual, according to Harmer’s memorandum.

“They included a preference for an experienced public administrator with Florida experience, a coastal background, and someone that could continue to advance the relationships with both counties,” Harmer stated.

As part of Harmer’s outreach, he has talked with “a number of individuals” over the past two months and has conducted some tours of the island, he said.

Harmer ultimately chose Tipton.

“He is a very seasoned, well-respected Florida manager that has coastal experience, and strong county experience and relations,” Harmer noted in the memorandum.

Tipton's background

Tipton has 40 years of experience in Florida local government. He was county administrator for Brevard County from 2009-14 after serving as deputy administrator of Orange County and chief administration officer for the Orange County Clerk of Courts.

For St. Lucie County Commission Chairman Sean Mitchell, who said he found out about Tipton’s possible departure only this week, the news was both surprising and sad.

“Howard has done some really marvelous things since I’ve been here in the past four years,” Mitchell told TCPalm Thursday. “He was a steadying force and I have nothing but respect from him.”

The County Commission is expected to discuss a search to replace Tipton at an informal meeting Tuesday, Mitchell said.

In his seven years, Tipton helped create a public/private partnership with Derecktor Ft. Pierce that has seen $17 million of private investment at the Port of Fort Pierce; prepared Treasure Coast International Airport for commercial service while expanding economic activity to 3,000 jobs and more than a $500 million annual economic impact; and held more than 40 news conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep the public safe and informed, according to a biography he provided to Longboat Key.

Olivia McKelvey is TCPalm's watchdog reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach her at olivia.mckelvey@tcpalm.com, 772-521-4380 and on Twitter @olivia_mckelvey. 

Anne Snabes covers city and county government for the Herald-Tribune. You can contact her at asnabes@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @a_snabes.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Longboat Key's Tom Harmer retiring, to be replaced by St. Lucie administrator