A holiday tradition is alive and well in Volusia County, as the County Council has given praises and pay raises to the county manager and the county attorney.

Toward the end of its last scheduled meeting of 2023, the council Dec. 5 sent off its two top staffers with the promise of extra cash — 5 percent more than they are now being paid — for the coming days and the new year. The decision to grant the raises comes in conjunction with the council’s evaluations of the pair, the only staff members the elected body hires or fires.

“I appreciate you guys,” County Vice Chair Danny Robins told County Manager George Recktenwald and County Attorney Michael Dyer.

“One thing I have learned up here is polity and process,” Robins also said.

Robins and his colleagues lavished good will on the pair before agreeing to give each of the charter officers five-figure salary increases.

County Chair Jeff Brower spoke highly of the manager, noting he oversees a large number of personnel and has a billion-dollar-plus budget.

“George Recktenwald runs a Fortune 500 company,” Brower said. “You keep long hours.”

Brower added he had received emails from constituents asking him to call for a vote of “no confidence” in the county manager. He did not list any reasons for such an action.

I’m not going to ask for a vote of no confidence,” Brower said. “I have a lot of confidence.”

Parallel praise went to Dyer.

“I appreciate your candor, and I appreciate that that will continue,” Brower said. “Thank you for the conversations we’ve had. … I have confidence in you.”

Council Member Matt Reinhart, who joined the meeting via Zoom because he was not feeling well, commended Recktenwald for his personnel choices.

“He has brought some phenomenal people on board,” Reinhart said, referring to department heads. “I appreciate everything he has done.”

As for Dyer, Reinhart said he has been available and within reach for legal advice late at night and on weekends, if necessary.

“He is always accessible,” Reinhart added.

While noting he had given Recktenwald generally high marks on his written evaluation, Council Member Troy Kent leavened his praise with suggestions that the manager become more in touch with his constituents, perhaps in speaking engagements with a question-and-answer format. The manager, according to Kent, stands out for his ethics, job knowledge, personnel management and communications.

“I would like for you to be more open to residents and community groups,” Kent told Recktenwald.

Kent also urged the manager to keep him and others on the council better informed about matters pertaining to county government.

“As a council member, I should not be learning about stories that reflect negatively on the county in the media,” he said.

Overall, Kent joined in the chorus of commendations, acknowledging “Mr. Dyer and Mr. Recktenwald have hard jobs.”

Council Member David Santiago called for a 5-percent pay raise for each of the top two men, noting that was the figure of the latest annual salary and wage increases for the rank-and-file county employees. Santiago’s colleagues unanimously backed his motion. While he, too, was in favor of boosting the highest echelon’s pay by a rate equal to that of their staffs, Council Member Don Dempsey asked his peers to consider the magnitude of the pay increases.

“As much as I love both of you guys, it’s a lot of money,” Dempsey said. “At some point, we’ve got to cap it.”

Dempsey suggested the council consider “performance-based” raises in the future, adding he would like to see the budget reduced.

Brower liked that idea, especially during this time.

“If you look around the county, there are so many people struggling, wondering how they are going to buy Christmas presents,” he said.

In any event, the vote to grant the raises was unanimous.

Thus, Recktenwald will see his yearly pay rise from $246,217.76 to $258,528.65. Dyer‘s salary will jump from $230,607.94 to $242,138.34.