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Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Final April 22, 2025 <br />legislation, and the workload. She hoped to add another staff member, and <br />improve purchasing and special assessment codes. The Board appreciated <br />Attorney Shuler's availability and communication. <br />Vice Chairman Loar began discussion with County Administrator John Titkanich's <br />hire and prior reviews before mentioning a newspaper article which speculated the <br />direction of this performance review. The Vice Chairman then recounted his <br />disappointing interactions with Administrator Titkanich over the last two years, <br />and wondered at what point the Board should decide to take the County in <br />another direction. <br />Administrator Titkanich provided an exhaustive list of his recent activities which <br />spanned hurricane recovery, capital improvement and economic development <br />plans, customer service and permitting improvements, community outreach, <br />capital improvements, and his efforts to modernize the County's structure and <br />culture. He offered status reports of projects including customer service <br />satisfaction, the Utilities Master Plan, and the Oslo Corridor Study. Future plans <br />included financial studies, new software for community development, and an <br />updated employee handbook and policies. He concluded with the need to plan <br />conservatively considering the economic uncertainty. <br />Discussion ensued revealing varying opinions on the effectiveness of current <br />leadership styles and the need for proactive communication with the community <br />and Commissioners. <br />Vice Chairman Loar expressed his disappointment in the Administrator's <br />communication and accomplishment, and asked Administrator Titkanich to rate <br />his own performance. The Administrator defended his progress in the face of <br />resistance to changes, and took responsibility for communication shortfalls, noting <br />his commitment to service excellence. <br />Commissioner Moss raised questions regarding the timing of the newspaper <br />article, and the Chairman's comments in it which she felt were close to violating <br />Sunshine laws. The Commissioner advocated for routine status updates, and <br />better one-on-one communication with the Administrator. The Chairman <br />defended his comments to the newspaper, while the County Attorney advised the <br />Board to be mindful of perception when speaking to the media. <br />Commissioner Earman objected to the tone of the performance review, and <br />suggested direct communication of the Board's expectations for the Administrator. <br />He acknowledged the overall difficulty the Administrator faced, and rated his <br />performance as a B- , reiterating his desire to see faster action. <br />Indian River County, Florida Page 18 <br />