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Armando Martinez
Reference Notes
Tab 8
Catherine Robinson – Mayor, Bunnell, FL 386-503-8837
Mayor Robinson has known Mr. Martinez since 2006. He was the Police Chief and she moved
him into the City Manager’s position in 2008.
Mayor Robinson has been on the commission for 17 years and Mr. Martinez is by far the best
manager she has ever had. The Bunnell Police Department was in terrible shape when he was
hired. He did an excellent job bringing in professionalism and ridding the department of useless
employees. He is a quick thinker and does an outstanding job of public relations. He adheres to
human resources policies and procedures and has made her job as Mayor a delight.
When Mr. Martinez first came to work in Bunnell he would stay the bulk of the week and make
the two hour drive home on the weekends. He is Cuban American and has extremely strong
family ties. When he moved into the City Manager’s position he gave up his house in Bunnell
and started to drive home every evening to be with his family. He is adored by the community
and it will be a tremendous loss if he chooses to leave. However taking a job without such a
terrible commute will be a significant gain for his family.
Mr. Martinez is transparent and open. He has a great deal of integrity. He and the former city
manager did not see eye to eye so he resigned as Police Chief rather than drag the city through a
controversy. 200 people showed up to a public meeting to beg him to stay. Mayor Robinson
decided to let the City Manager go and asked Mr. Martinez to step into that role.
Mr. Martinez is not corrupted by politics. He has instinctive people skills and works well with
everyone. When he was promoted to city manager, his only area of weakness seemed to be
economic development - he was, after all, trained to be a Police Officer not a City Manager. He
immersed himself in anything that would give him more knowledge of the subject and soon
learned everything he needed to know.
Mr. Martinez is not afraid to move someone out of a position if they are a detriment to the city.
He is fair and committed to his team of employees. He is a leader and maintains the organization
at a high performance level. He hires quality personnel then allows them to lead their
departments. He initiated a pay plan based on merit for the employees, which was initially
controversial. By doing so the staff has additional incentive to work hard.
The City did not have a solid waste department until Mr. Martinez put one together. The newly
formed department has increased customer service and brought in additional revenue. With
some of the revenue he was able to give the employees a raise for the first time in five years.
Mayor Robinson cannot imagine life in Bunnell without Mr. Martinez. He is simply
irreplaceable. She and the entire community will be devastated if he leaves but she will be happy
for him and his family if he accepts a position closer to his home.
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