Longtime Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker told county commissioners Friday that she is retiring.
Baker, 66, a county employee for 37 years and the top administrator since 2015, will leave her post at the end of May, she told Stet News.
“I’m going to take some time for me and my family,” she said. “My husband is ready to travel.”
The county administrator oversees a $9 billion budget, including $1.5 billion from countywide property taxes. Her departure would end a remarkable string of 33 years in which the county has had just two people in the top job — Baker and her predecessor, Bob Weisman.
Baker started as a budget analyst and spent 15 years as Weisman’s deputy. Her salary topped $460,000, The Palm Beach Post reported last year.
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Baker said she leaves the seven county commissioners, including two newcomers elected in November, with potential successors among her top staff.
Deputy Administrator Patrick Rutter, who Baker promoted last year, “would be very good,” she said. Assistant Administrators Todd Bonlarron and Isamí Ayala-Collazo, also promoted last year, are potential choices as well.
Baker cited dozens of accomplishments in an email Saturday to commissioners, including stewardship of grant money during COVID, construction of new county facilities and a second spring training baseball stadium and creation of workforce housing programs.
But she also faced criticism last year over her staff’s handling of a minority hiring program and capital spending shortfalls. She faced calls to give commissioners more power, prompting a review to be led by Commissioner Maria Marino, who is now mayor. A proposal to publicly evaluate Baker remains as well.
With commissioners heading to Tallahassee this week for Palm Beach County Day and the start of the legislative session, there’s no commission meeting until March 11.
This story was originally published by Stet News Palm Beach, a WLRN News partner.
