Photo credit: J.D. Pleasant (and a cast of thousands)
By Peter Guinta
St. Augustine City Manager Bill Harriss announced his approaching retirement Monday, saying that when he leaves in June, he will have served 25 years as a city employee and 13 as city manager.
Harriss, who turns 60 in June, has a reputation as a strong-willed, sometimes blunt, administrator, but his softer side comes out talking about retirement.
"This decision has been emotional for me. You don't just say, 'Bye. See you' and walk away," he said Monday. "It's like your kids going off to college. They're not under your protection any more.
"You know they'll be successful, but it's a hard thing to let them go."
Harriss said one of his proudest achievements was improving the city's credit rating from junk bonds to the highest possible rating by "living within our means, spending money wisely and saving when we could."
There's no better way to understand how something works than by understanding how it is financed, he said.
"How do we deliver the same or higher quality service to all our constituents without having the cost of those services becoming a burden?" he said. "That's the everyday, every hour question a city manager has to ask himself, staff and, ultimately, the City Commission."
Other contributions include his execution of projects such as expansion of the water system, construction of city facilities such as a new fleet maintenance facility, central warehouse, solid waste facility, main fire station, new financial services center, rehabilitated Visitor Information Center and construction of a new downtown parking garage.
He is a Florida native who earned his accounting and finance degrees from the University of West Florida, coming to St. Johns County in 1985. That year, he began his career as financial services director, then served as general services director and assistant city manager under Joe Pomar.
He was chosen as city manager in 1998.
Former City Commissioner Bill Lennon, who served on the board for 10 years, nominated Harriss at the time.
"He's accomplished a lot," Lennon said Monday. "He pretty much filled (Joe Pomar's) shoes. There were many times when he was under severe stress.
"But he weathered the storm and did a good job."
Mayor Joe Boles agreed.
"St. Augustine is in as good a financial shape as it is because of Bill Harriss watching the dollars and cents," Boles said. "Having a bean counter as city manager goes a long way towards keeping us in good shape."
He said Harriss pushed for the city saving more in reserves.
"Having a reserve means we can spend $250,000 to replaces the lights in the parking garage with LEDs, saving us $100,000 a year in electricity costs," he said. "That's his personality permeating the entire staff. He guides them and challenges them to do better."
Harriss said Monday that he had long ago decided that he would retire after his 60th birthday and 25th year of city employment and that both those milestones will be reached in June.
But he added that he may help the new manager chosen by the commission with the transition and could stay until September.
When two new pipelines were being dug under the Matanzas River, Harriss loved to take visitors out and explain how the directional drill cut 25 feet below the river and came up on the other bank to the inch of where it was aimed.
He was known for being out of the office and on the scene.
"I was always taking things apart to see how they work," he said, adding that his father was an engineer. "He taught me a lot. Learning all the things that run a city is exciting."
However, one of his most important duties -- managing the city's budget -- required him to be in the office.
"There's not just one budget time. It's all the time," he said. "It's important to verify if something is a want or a need.
"On everything from big construction projects to office supplies, we try to look at what the function is and what it's worth to city residents."
Vice Mayor Errol Jones said Harriss has run the city well.
"We don't always agree on some issues. But I listened to him and respected his opinion even when I differed with it," Jones said. "His management style is different from a lot of others, but he's always sincere in what he's doing. He's been good for the city."
Harriss often receives angry and accusatory letters, phone calls and comments from the public. Any news story that mentions him always draws anonymous snipers.
But -- at least on the surface -- it seems not to bother him.
"People always want their way, and if they don't get it, they don't like it," he said. "I try to carry out the commission's philosophical wishes. Sometimes that doesn't sit well with people."
Jones said Harriss could be gruff sometimes.
"But he also has a gentle side," Jones said. "He knew who he worked for, and the ultimate decision was the commission's."
Harriss has also served occasionally as a reserve deputy for the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. He and his wife, Scarlett, a teacher at Webster School, have two daughters, ages 35 and 28.
"I'll continue to work as a reserve deputy," Harriss said of his plans after retirement. "But bringing down or fighting a bad guy is not in my repertoire now that I'm 60. I don't participate in everyday law enforcement any more."
The City Commission has not yet decided how it will search for Harriss' replacement.
But whoever they choose, Harriss will be watching to make sure his beloved city is running smoothly.
He said, "I tell my staff, 'You have the baton. Don't drop it.'"
Boles said that anywhere he travels, he sees small towns in trouble.
"They've laid people off, fired people. We didn't lay anybody off. We didn't fire anybody." he said. "City staff is a close-knit, like a family. And Bill's paternal."
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