Mayor Jim Humphrey

City of Fort Myers

People like their government to operate with the efficiency and effectiveness of a well-run business. That promise helped Jim Humphrey, senior partner of Humphrey & Knott P.A., win last November’s Fort Myers mayoral race by a landslide.

As a long-time local business leader “on the outside looking in,” Humphrey had discerned administrative conduct that appeared detrimental to the city. Once on the inside, he found his fears confirmed. In his first 100 days in office, Mayor Jim Humphrey commenced a thorough investigation of problems and issues facing Fort Myers. Then he launched a vigorous course of action based on rigorous business principles.

The new mayor notes that he had hoped to focus his initial efforts on enhancing safety in the neighborhoods. Instead he finds himself wrestling to put the city on firm financial footing. He jokes that he’ll likely be remembered as the “repair and maintenance mayor.”

“I’m grateful for the public support of what I’m trying to do,” says Humphrey. “Everyone I’ve asked to help has been receptive. Business people and other citizens continue to come forward, contributing their time and talent in turning this city around.”

Entering public office after 30 years of private law practice here, which at one time extended to service as a Fort Myers judge and Lee County attorney, Humphrey sized up a situation he describes as untenable in any business enterprise. Long-term per capita debt was twice the traditional target. Mounting annual operating expenses far exceeded revenues. Big ticket capital projects plagued the city with cost overruns and special venues ran up operating losses and unpaid bills. Profits from the Edison-Ford Winter Estates were pocketed by the city while this “jewel in the crown” of city amenities operated without adequate monies for needed maintenance and repairs.

Humphrey’s immediate administrative goal became balancing the budget and creating emergency reserves. In his first 60 days, his input in addressing impacts from two proposed developments resulted in $1 million in accrued benefits to the city, which otherwise would have been lost. “Developers know me and know what is expected of them in other county jurisdictions,” says Humphrey. “It’s no different here.”

He’s gone on to streamline city bureaucracy, realigning departments to weed out redundant programs and charging managers to reduce overhead by 10 percent up front. A pay-as-you-go philosophy will govern operations and forge a “repair and reserve” account for every major city venue. On the side, the mayor is raising funds for historic preservation. And he’s bent on extending downtown Fort Myers beyond an entertainment venue into an arts and culture district. Evaluation and improvement of city roads, utilities and other infrastructure, downtown hotels and convention facilities, and assessed property values will follow.

Since Fort Myers is the name people most associate with Lee County, it’s vital to set an example. “People are up to feeling good about their city,” says Mayor Humphrey. “We are working together on this, and bringing a welcome sense of respect and civility.”

Mayor Arnold Kempe

City of Cape Coral

“Planning is the panacea for everything here,” maintains Cape Coral Mayor Arnold Kempe. To that end he is 100 percent behind the city’s recent move to expand and upgrade its professional planning staff. And he is urging city council and staff to accelerated discovery and persistent leveraging of every possible economic advantage for the community.

Continued diversification of the tax base, underway in the city’s Economic Development Office for several years, tops the list. But now there are new twists. Cape Coral’s widespread affordably-priced housing has been steadily increasing in value at the same time that new development policies have opened the door for high-end condominiums and half-million-dollar homes. After achieving a milestone population of 100,000 in 2000, this land of mom-and-pop shops is of sudden interest to national retail chains. Major extensions of road and utility infrastructure already in progress promise to attract new and larger industries to designated commercial areas.

And Kempe’s still not satisfied. “I always want to accomplish more in the least amount of time,” says this retired attorney who served three terms as mayor of West St. Paul, Minnesota, then as its long-time city attorney, as well as two terms in the Minnesota State House of Representatives.

While a comprehensive plan overlay for Cape Coral is “under discussion,” Kempe insists that comprehensive long-range planning is the only answer to issues engendered by a recent history of spot planning. One drawback to the city’s unprecedented canal system is that it limits commercial facilities to narrow strips disconnected by waterways. “Industrial development needs unimpeded deep lots,” notes Kempe. And a largely residential tax base needs a growing commercial and industrial base to contribute tax revenue and jobs.

Smart governing in Mayor Kempe’s book also means balancing power between council members and administrative staff. It requires bringing high staffing levels into line with cities of comparable size. Too, it is essential to reduce the amount of work outsourced to pricey consultants while wisely managing contracted projects. And finally, chasing down delinquent receivables.

During decades of monitoring how various governments operate, this seasoned politician has detected an ingrained tendency to keep adding on. “Simple little things add up,” observes Kempe, who believes that taxpayers’ investments should be profitable. His recommended alternative is to keep returning to zero base, scrutinizing what is needed and at what cost. The better answer lies not in spending more, but in doing more with less.

Cape Coral’s new mayor, at home in his new city for three years and in his office in the new City Hall complex since his election last November, agrees that bringing scattered departments together in the new work space can raise productivity. He maintains that, “people, not things, are most crucial to getting things done.”

As mayor, Kempe admits to continuing his lifelong pattern of waking in the middle of the night to dictate notes with ideas for the weeks and months ahead. “When you have a job that’s a challenge, it takes all your time,” he says. His personal maxim guides him. “Not whatever will be will be. What will be is what you plan to be.”

Mayor Paul Pass

City of Bonita Springs

After winning the April 2000 election as the first mayor of the newly constituted City of Bonita Springs, Paul Pass went to work, operating from a mobile office those first few weeks and funding a cell phone, post office box, and supplies from his own pocket. Starting fresh proved a boon. With no debt, priorities identified by the electorate, and few preconceived ideas of “how things are done around here,” he’s enjoyed applying a host of skills to strengthening his community’s bargaining position and hastening desired responses from county and state.

An adult lifetime invested in caring for the Bonita Springs quality of life helps the city’s residents trust that Mayor Paul Pass shares their priorities. His vice chairmanship of the Metropolitan Planning Organization grants a large voice to residents’ number one concern — road congestion. Team leadership learned in youth sports, developed through coaching, and refined while inaugurating Bonita Springs’ Community Redevelopment Association, now fosters a productive united effort by new city council and staff.

“I’ve learned how to depend on and involve many people, all of whom must carry a lot of weight for projects to succeed,” says Pass. He has learned that in working through an issue, listening to varying views inevitably broadens everyone’s perspective. And the majority generally makes a better decision. “When a meeting adjourns and no one leaves absolutely satisfied with a decision, you can be confident that it will turn out to be right.” Pass finds the associated lack of rubber-stamping refreshing.

Gaining local control was the driving force behind incorporating for Bonita Springs. The call to action began with greater accountability for community dollars flowing to Lee County. Immediate retention of more dollars from impact fees and other sources — one benefit of becoming a city — yielded the new city a $14 million first-year budget. It paid for a streamlined government and jump-started stalled projects without raising property taxes.

The new city council immediately went to work targeting road widening, drainage, and development issues that have kept residents in limbo for years. “Let’s make some tough decisions and let people get on with their lives,” says Pass. Parks and recreation programs also got a boost with new facilities and staff. The new mayor is gratified that in this first year as a city, Bonita Springs residents benefited from better services without paying an additional dime.

That includes the services of the elected mayor and council, all unsalaried positions. When he’s not at city hall or speaking to an average of 20 community groups each month, Pass operates his own business, Pass Golf Management Company. Weekends find him and his wife Pam hosting dozens of neighborhood children at their Bonita Springs home.

Community is a way of life for the Pass family, and that brings sweet rewards. “Near pandemonium breaks out when I walk into Spring Creek Elementary where my wife and I volunteer,” says Pass. “Kids run up to hug my legs and wave from across the room. They’re aware of the community and know that I’m the mayor. When they see me frequently, that means something to them.”

Adults, too, often find a moment to say, “Job well done.” “Whether or not people agree with me,” says Pass, “they are generous in appreciating the amount of effort invested in our community’s well being.”

The scope of the new mayor’s new city job is large. It requires working double and triple duty. It necessitates living under a microscope. And making scores of difficult decisions honestly, from the heart. But, says Mayor Paul Pass, “You can’t put a price on the education I’ve received and the fun I’ve had this past year.”

Mayor Bonnie MacKenzie

City of Naples

“If people love living here, visitors will enjoy coming too.” City of Naples Mayor Bonnie MacKenzie’s focus on local residents’ experience of their city permeates her agenda. Somewhere along the way, she observes, surrounding growth, commercial development, and catering to tourists have come to override the residents’ need for a pleasant sense of community.

In a city of 20,000 people feeling the impact of 100,000 cars teeming into the city each day, her emphasis is commendable. As mayor, her role is to see that residents’ needs receive priority. In her 25 years in Naples, she has discerned that, “When people feel valued and cared for, they welcome visitors.”

Backed by a new city manager whose job is to ensure that day-to-day functions run smoothly, Mayor MacKenzie is free to collaborate with him in examining crucial long-range issues of concern to residents. Then she’s off into the neighborhoods gathering data and opinions at the source; conversing with residents; answering questions in up to 24 citizen forums each month; orchestrating town hall meetings on key issues being accessible, and reporting her findings for action by city government. MacKenzie delights in staking her reputation on her individualized service and the community’s collective success.

February 2001 marked MacKenzie’s first anniversary as mayor, her fifth year in local public office, having served as Naples councilwoman and vice mayor. Because she believes that “you must know what you’re talking about before you open your mouth,” she spent the early months of her administration reviewing projects, helping to map out funding, and setting a course of accomplishment. Roads, sidewalks, storm water management, hurricane preparedness, and water utility upgrades rose to the top of the agenda. All require major long-term commitments plus persistent year-in, year-out investment.

“Our big concern is getting maximum use of every tax dollar,” says MacKenzie. “For example, the insurance and litigation costs a city faces are breathtaking figures. We ask, ‘How much more could be accomplished with these dollars?’” One part of the answer lies in collaborating creatively with other government entities to secure group rates. Another resides in cost-efficient scheduling of localized redevelopment projects, so that contractors install sidewalks, revamp roads, and move utility lines underground at the same time.

MacKenzie points to Fifth Avenue South as a Naples hallmark that combines conscientious redevelopment with good business sense. “Redevelopment here started with Naples’ first female mayor, and my goal is to expand it to other parts of the city.” She is quick to note that businesses that orient themselves to serving residents, take an active part in community, and conduct themselves as good neighbors, enjoy loyal year-round patronage by residents.

Historically, Naples has benefited by alternating spurts of development and redevelopment followed by a resting period. Far-sighted business leaders, elected officials, and residents have made good use of these pauses to step back and clearly see how things stand. Time-outs allow those who live here to carefully evaluate what is working, what to leave out, and how best to move forward.

Mayor MacKenzie’s benchmark is as straightforward as she is. “Fifty years from now, will people look back and consider what we did as good?” With that in mind, she continues exploring opportunities to advance the expressed interests of residents patiently and diplomatically.

Neapolitans let her know she’s on the mark. Wherever she goes, throughout the city, people refer to Bonnie MacKenzie not as “the mayor,” but as “our mayor.” And that conveys a most pleasant sense of community.

S. Alison Chabonais is a freelance business writer.