Michael Cernech is an At-Large Director on the FCCMA Board of Directors.
How long have you been a FCCMA member?
I’ve been an FCCMA member since moving to Florida from Texas in 2001.
Are you an ICMA member and if so, how long?
I joined ICMA in 1994, this will be my 20th year in ICMA.
Please describe your areas of formal/advanced education.
I have a BS in Finance from the University of Detroit in Detroit, Michigan, an MPA from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, attended the Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia and the Kennedy School at Harvard.
What got you interested in public service?
My family has been involved in education, municipal government, City Management, and elected service for as long as I can remember.
What is your current occupation?
I’m currently the City Manager of Tamarac, Florida (pop. 62,110) since 2011.
Please give a brief job description.
I’m not sure there is such a thing! I try to explain when asked, I manage 5 bosses, 500 employees and $180,000,000 every day and no two days are the same. I do what needs to be done to get the job done consistent with our vision, mission, and values.
Please describe your typical day.
Hectic! A typical day starts with phone calls after 7:00 am until I get home. I try to get home by 6:30 p.m. so my children remember who I am and I try to keep my weekends for my family. Every day is busy with meetings and community commitments. The hardest part for me is balancing the current issues with the bigger, longer term items and staying on top of them all. This makes for a busy day, no shortage of issues.
What is your favorite part of the job?
The people, Tamarac has so many great employees who care so much about doing a great job for the community they inspire me and make it easy for me to get out of bed. Our employees carry so much of the burden they make my job infinitely easier. The community is fantastic also, they support us in what we are doing and help make Tamarac a great community every day.
What is your least favorite part of the job?
Since becoming City Manager I haven’t been able to spend as much time as I’d like to with our employees. I‘ve had to delegate so much more than when I was an Assistant I just feel like sometimes I’m missing the connection I used to have. Also, the night meetings have become a grind. We do so much civic engagement now it just gets old sometimes.
What is your most memorable experience on the job?
Cleaning up after Hurricane Wilma will stay with me forever. People lost so much and needed so much help and we were actually able to provide it. I was amazed at how well our people did and realized how capable our employees really were after Wilma.
What are hobbies/interests?
Boating, scuba diving, a little fishing and some golf.
If you could give one piece of advice to young people interested in a career in public service, what would it be?
Understand we are in the business of serving, this is not always easy, but in doing so we make significant impacts on peoples’ lives every day.
Who were your mentors and how have you passed this information down to other young public administrators?
I had the great fortune to work for several “Old School” City Managers early in my career. They passed along a lot of wisdom about our business and about life. I encourage everyone in our profession to listen, most of us are good listeners, but to be successful in our chosen careers, we and especially the young professionals need to work on listening more.
Have you always been in the public sector or have you had experience in the private sector?
I worked for General Motors, at the world headquarters in Detroit for 5 years in the late 80’s/early 90’s.
What career would you pick if you were to pick another?
Large boat captain
