Candidate Thomas emphasized staff morale, emergency readiness and road maintenance in Melbourne Beach manager interview

Mister Thomas, one of four finalists for Melbourne Beach town manager, told commissioners during his interview that the town’s “most critical issue” is low staff morale and the perception of bad leadership.

In a 30‑minute opening and subsequent questioning, Thomas drew on his 23 years of military service and time on the Melbourne city council to describe approaches to personnel management, emergency preparedness and infrastructure budgeting. He said he favored routine counseling and quarterly feedback for employees, and that disciplinary matters should flow through department directors and the HR director when appropriate.

On emergency planning, Thomas recounted work during Hurricanes Matthew and Dorian, including coordinating sandbag distribution and serving as a city spokesperson; he told the commission that his team once loaded "30,000 sandbags" to help residents prepare. On infrastructure, he described Melbourne’s budget process — a formal budget book, individualized staff meetings and three millage options presented to council — and cited resurfacing and reconstruction cost examples for roads.

Thomas also discussed community engagement on contentious safety issues, pointing to experience with Brightline train incidents in the region and describing local-funded crossing upgrades to address resident concerns.

Commissioners used Thomas’s answers — alongside responses from three other finalists — during a straw poll and later a final selection vote. Thomas ultimately was not selected as the commission’s top candidate; the commission instead chose Marie Smith by a 3–2 vote.