Sumter County Administrator Bradley Arnold received high marks in job evaluations completed recently by county commissioners.
The five commissioners rated him as “substantially exceeds expectations” on all but 21 of 215 rankings. He was rated as “exceeds expectations” in 20 rankings.
A single negative rating of “below expectations” came from one commissioner in the category of filing accurate and comprehensive reports for animal services. County officials have struggled with animal activists over the past year, but made significant improvements to the animal services operation.
Arnold was praised for maintaining high quality services despite the loss of staff, including former assistant county administrator and public works director Richard Baier, who became district manager of The Villages.
Commissioner Al Butler wrote that Arnold’s finest accomplishments over the past year were dealing with The Villages expansion, improvements in animal control and “not missing a beat in the loss of key public works managers.”
Managing jail expansion and construction of a new fire station were among Arnold’s accomplishments listed by Commissioner Steve Printz. He also praised road agreements with developers and Arnold’s strong relationships with Villages officials and constitutional officers.
Other commissioners praised Arnold’s professionalism and strong management, as well as his ability in negotiating agreements between the county and The Villages to allow the massive expansion in the Villages of Southern Oaks while maintaining the county’s interests.