By ED BALDRIDGE
ed.baldridge@newssun.com
SEBRING -- Three of the five commissioners gave County Administrator Ricky Helms less than a passing grade this week on his first evaluation.
January was the one year mark for Helms' tenure as administrator, and the scores for his job performance ranged from a low score of 26 from veteran Commissioner Barbara Stewart, to a high score of 85 from board newcomer Greg Harris.
"I don't have any comment on the evaluations except to say that I am scheduling individual meetings with the commissioners to discuss their evaluations," Helms said on Thursday.
When all the evaluation scores are added together and then divided by five, Helms tallied just 50 points out of 100 possible, the lowest number achievable on the satisfactory section of the scoring scale.
"All areas need significant improvement," wrote Commissioner Barbara Stewart under the initiative and performance, problem analysis/decision making, management and administrative skills sections.
Stewart wrote that Helms was not providing the board with "accurate and complete pertinent information, including thorough analysis," in her comments added to the scoring section of the evaluation.
Board Chairman Jack Richie, who gave Helms a 29, also took a critical stance, stating that Helms "does not try to be open with the citizens of Highlands County. He seems to tolerate the citizens."
Additionally, Richie stated that Helms "has a major problem communicating with the press," and "does not create a positive image of county government."
"What I have observed in my short time in office is that Rick seems to be going through the motions of administrator," wrote Commissioner Ron Handley.
"I feel his heart isn't really in the job, and I feel from the county's best interest he should probably go ahead and retire," Handley continued. Handley gave Helms a score of 41.
Don Elwell was a little more forgiving of Helms, and scored him at 68.33 points.
Elwell complimented Helms on his knowledge and experience, but stressed that Helms needed to "...take a step back from his book of knowledge and be able to look at problems from a fresh perspective, opening himself up to new ideas and approaches in coming up with effective solutions."
Commissioner Greg Harris gave Helms his highest score at 85. He wrote that Helms "knows a lot about everything," but ranked him low on his effective use of time and resources to improve service to citizens and cut costs.
The commission did not discuss Helms at their Tuesday meeting, opting to allow him up to 30 days to schedule an agenda item to rebut his evaluation.
Friday, January 27, 2012 - www.newssun.com/012712-eb-helms-eval