Recktenwald Officially Becomes Volusia Manager

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Volusia County Manager George Recktenwald during
a live appearance on WNDB's Marc Bernier Show.

DeLand, FL - After nearly a year as the temporary replacement for Jim Dinneen, George Recktenwald can finally remove the "interim" from his job title as Volusia County Manager.

The Volusia County Council unanimously approved his contract during today's (March 5th) meeting in DeLand, which was then followed by a round of applause from the council and those sitting in the public area of the chambers.

Recktenwald - who was the Deputy County Manager when Dinneen resigned last summer - initially didn't want to be considered for the job when he agreed to replace Dinneen, but said he changed his mind based in large part on the "team" surrounding him.

"The staff that we have here is second to none," Recktenwald added. "To be able to get to play quarterback - kind of the way I look at it - on such a great team is really what put me over the edge to want to take this on."

The terms call for Recktenwald to get $215,000 a year in salary along with an annual contribution of $56,000 to his 401(a) retirement account.

It also requires Volusia County to give him 120 days of severance pay and health insurance should he be fired without cause.

If he's pink-slipped before April of 2023, Volusia County could have to pay Recktenwald for nearly 500 days of accrued leave.

The contract does allow Recktenwald the option to use a county-owned vehicle or take home a $500 monthly allowance.

Prior to approving Recktenwald's contract, the VCC signed off on nearly $1.5 million to bolster Volusia's emergency management services, including hiring eight full-time emergency medical technicians, eight full-time paramedics and buying four more ambulances.

Proper funding for EMS was one of the key issues which eventually led to Dinneen's ouster, with union police and fire officials joining Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, VCC District 4 member Heather Post and others in demanding his ouster.

Recktenwald received a 5% raise around a month after Dinneen resigned, boosting his salary at that point from $173,987 to $182,687.

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