Port Orange, FL – A former United States Navy Captain who worked for years alongside a US Vice President is chosen to run the ship in Port Orange.
During a special meeting held on Tuesday, the Port Orange City Council unanimously agreed to hire Michael H. “Jake” Johansson to be its new City Manager 3 days after choosing him from a list of 4 finalists in another special meeting.
Johansson will be making $140,000 a year when he steps in for interim City Manager David Harden starting August 13th.
That’s $5,000 more than what Greg Kisela – Port Orange’s last permanent City Manager – made yearly but is smack in the middle of the range Port Orange advertised when 88 other candidates applied along with Johansson to be Kisela’s permanent replacement.
Harden – a former Delray Beach City Manager – took over for Kisela last August on a temporary basis when he returned to Destin to become its City Manager once again. He is expected to stay until mid-August to help in the transition.
Kisela was 1 of 6 high-ranking city officials who resigned last summer due in part to rising tensions between city staff, elected officials and certain members of the public who publicly complained about how the city handled several key issues, especially the discovery of over $400,000 worth of unauthorized water meter purchases.
Kisela also had to deal with the fallout of millions of dollars’ worth of utility billing mistakes made by city staff when he replaced longtime City Manager Ken Parker in January 2013.
His contract does not include any health benefits because Johansson plans to use his military retirement benefits but is standard in pretty much every other way, according to Port Orange District 2 Councilman Don Burnette.
Johansson – who is married with 3 young sons – recently retired from the Navy after serving as the Commanding Officer of the US Naval Support Activity in Hampton Roads, Virginia.
His Naval resume includes stops in California and Hawaii as well as 3 years in Washington, DC as a Naval Aide for then US Vice President Dick Cheney.
Michael H. “Jake” Johansson (photo courtesy City of Port Orange)
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.