Tiny Montverde could become region’s smallest town with a professional manager

MONTVERDE — Running a small town with all of nine employees might seem like it would be a snap. But Mayor Joe Wynkoop says: Think again.

“It’s a little town with all the little tiny moving parts,” said Wynkoop, who juggles his job as a Realtor with mayoral roles that include overseeing the town’s operation. “Until you sit down and do it, you really don’t understand how much there is to do.”

In his four years as mayor he said he has learned that running a local government — even a pint-sized one like Montverde, population 1,878 — is a time-consuming undertaking.

Voters will go to the polls Tuesday to decide whether it’s time to bring a trained government manager on board to take over the duties. If approved, the laid-back Lake County town will become the smallest community in Central Florida with a full-time manager.

It’s smaller than Windermere, which has a population of 2,972; Oakland, 3,365; and Belle Isle, 7,365, all of which have managers. Among other cities in the area with fewer than 10,000 residents, Mascotte, population 6,205, and Umatilla, with 4,154 residents, also are run by managers who report to their city’s elected representatives.

Windermere Town Council member Bob McKinley said Montverde has the right idea with its referendum.

“With the town of Windermere I would say it would be extremely hard to function without a town manager,” said McKinley, referring to the town’s point man, Robert Smith. “We would not be near as efficient as we are.”

Jim Gleason, city manager in Mascotte, said it makes sense to bring someone on board trained in city government operations who can administer Montverde’s $1.8 million budget.

From time to time over the past three years, Gleason and his finance director, Dolly Miller, have helped Wynkoop professionalize the town’s operation on their days off, at a rate of $70 an hour. Miller is a former Groveland city manager.

“In the beginning there was much more hands-on work,” Gleason said, adding that they’ve provided assistance only about five times this year.

While Wynkoop has embraced his administrator obligations and has received a lot of on-the-job training, Gleason said “getting elected to office doesn’t mean you necessarily have the skill set to run a city on a day-to-day basis.”

Admitting he’s “probably a fanatic,” Wynkoop said he puts in 50 to 60 hours a week, presiding from his office at Town Hall, which was converted from the old Montverde schoolhouse built decades ago. He receives $1,500 a month as mayor compared with $500 a month for town council members and $550 for the council president.

If the ballot measure passes, he said, “Hopefully we can get someone in here that’s got 10, 20 years’ experience and brings a lot to the table for us to look at.”

He said a manager would be paid in the ballpark of $75,000 a year. Wynkoop’s pay would be reduced to that of a council member.

Gleason said with the progress made the past few years, Montverde is “in a position where the transition [to a council-manager system] would be smoother for them.”

Montverde, which was founded in 1925 along Lake Apopka’s west shore, has a minimalist government to go with its size. For starters, the town has no police department, the biggest cost in many cities.

Montverde does pay $86,000 a year for the services of one full-time Lake County deputy sheriff, Wynkoop said, and off-duty Florida Highway Patrol troopers are hired for 20 to 25 hours a month to handle traffic enforcement. If those options aren’t available when needed the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responds to calls.

Also, the town keeps expenses down with its 22-member volunteer fire department, founded in 1934, that has three firetrucks and a full-time fire chief. Volunteers receive $25 per 12-hour shift, and two of them are on duty nearly 24 hours a day, according to Wynkoop.

Montverde also benefits in that major roads through and leading into the town are county roads, so keeping them up isn’t the town’s responsibility.

Consequently, Montverde has the lowest tax rate among Lake County’s 14 cities.

Wynkoop said changing to a town manager won’t impact the budget greatly.

The proposal is backed by Kasey Kesselring, headmaster of Montverde Academy, an international boarding school that sits along County Road 455. The school established in 1912 is known for its Mediterranean-revival architecture, which gives the town an old Florida feel.

The school also has provided the town with a national identity — at least to sports fans — thanks to its powerhouse basketball team, which has won four national championships and produced numerous players who’ve gone on to Division I colleges and the NBA.

“As the expectation for sophistication grows with the provision and timely delivery of services, it is fair to say that the current structure may no longer be reasonable to adequately provide steady and sustainable leadership of the town’s operations,” Kesselring wrote in an email.

On Thursday, those operations for Wynkoop included guiding the driver of a truck towing a trailer to a spot where its cargo, a haunted house, was to be unloaded for that evening’s Halloween Trunk or Treat event at Kirk Park.

He acknowledged that such tasks probably don’t fall to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.

“He’s got a little bit different gig there,” said Wynkoop, adding that if voters give their OK he looks forward to remaining as mayor without the responsibility of being the town boss.

jfallstrom@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5444