PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — On Monday, Charlotte County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to appoint Kay Tracy as the Interim Director of the Economic Development Office after accepting the resignation of the former Director, Dave Gammon.
Tracy was serving as the EDO’s business recruitment manager, and has worked in the EDO for two decades.
Watch FOX 4's Charlotte County Community Correspondent Alex Orenczuk's report on Charlotte County's new EDO Director:
“I’m honored,” Tracy told Fox 4. “I’m really humbled that the commissioners have that much confidence in me. I’ve been here for 20 years and I think I can do a really good job”
Gammon resigned through a letter to Board Chairman Bill Truex on Aug. 9, stating his resignation would be effective Aug. 12.
Commissioners said it has been difficult communicating with the EDO, and that often decisions made by the EDO are not shared with the Commissioners, County Administrator's Office and the County Attorney.
Additionally, Commissioners noted that there are 4 vacancies at the EDO without Gammon.
“The importance of this decision today is huge in my opinion, we have a department that is in shambles. We need direct oversight, we need somebody who can rebuild it, we need someone with institutional knowledge and we need certainty at this point in time.”
Tracy was appointed Interim director of the EDO with the expectation that EDO decisions and projects will be shared from their inception with the County Administrator and County Attorney. Tracy is expected to be appointed permanently as the Director during a September Commissioners meeting after completing her contract negotiations.
“I communicate very well with the administration right now, and I continue to want to do that,” Tracy told Fox 4.
During the meeting commissioners discussed a proposed emergency amendment to the Home Rule Charter that would have made the EDO Director a department head that would report to the County Administrator, something commissioners argued would have made communication with the EDO officer easier.
Voters would have then voted on that amendment during the November General Election. The proposed amendment needed 4 votes to pass, and eventually failed 3-2 with Commissioners Stephen R. Deutsch and Joe Tiseo casting the dissenting votes.
