BELLEAIR - Micah Maxwell is not a new face at the town hall. For the past three years, he has been making his way to the town manager's office in Belleair, a job he already knows quite well.
What began in 2003 as an interniship led to Maxwell's employment as assistant to former city manager Steve Cottrell.
Last month Maxwell was named interim manager when the town commission asked Cottrell to resign from the post. Cottrell is at present a finalist for the Safety Harbor town manager position.
Maxwell graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Florida in 1999, and continuing there, obtained a Masters Degree in public administration in 2001.
Public administration runs in his family. His twin sister is the city manager for Valdosta, Florida. Maxwell's father was formerly an assistant city manager in Tallahassee and previously held the posts of county administrator for Alachua and Lee counties. Presently his father is the general manager for Tampa Bay Water.
Other members of the family are also civil servants. His mother is a retired teacher who taught head start classes to special needs children at Forest Lakes Elementary in Pinellas County. His other sibling, an older sister, is a teacher also.
Says Maxwell, "I like the idea of people performing their civic duty in one form or another, be it through teaching, military service, running for office, and in my case as well as my fathers, municipal management. In the case of my older sister and mom, they are teachers. My twin sister is a municipal employee in Valdosta, GA. Everyone has an opportunity to perform their duty, this is how I choose to perform mine and it makes me feel whole."
On Belleair's to do list Maxwell says, "Issues include the current police services survey, the potential change in delivery of solid waste services, budget, and the towns comprehensive plan amendments."