St. Pete Beach’s city clerk is ready to take her talents to Anna Maria.
Palmetto resident Amber LaRowe told The Islander March 4 that she is excited to begin as Anna Maria’s next city clerk on March 25 — after a short vacation.
LaRowe has deep connections to Manatee County, with generational roots like her father and grandfather, who lived their whole lives in the county.
Likewise, LaRowe was born and raised in the county and has never lived elsewhere.
She began her career in local government 13 years ago as Palmetto’s assistant city clerk.
LaRowe, a mother of three teenagers, currently serves as the St. Pete Beach city clerk, but applied for the same position in Anna Maria, hoping to work closer to home.
“As soon as I saw an opportunity to come back to the county … I took it,” she said. “I’m so excited to be back in public service doing what I love and enjoy in the county I grew up in.”
While the roughly 35-minute commute to St. Pete Beach may be similar to her new commute to Anna Maria, she said her familiarity with the county’s backroads might help her evade some traffic problems.
Mayor Mark Short and Commission Chair Charlie Salem interviewed LaRowe and four other candidates from a list of 19 applicants.
Short told The Islander March 4 that “(LaRowe) is extremely qualified. … She has significant experience in this role.”
City commissioners voted to approve Short and Salem’s recommendation to hire LaRowe in January.
Current city clerk and treasurer LeAnne Addy will retain the clerk role until LaRowe begins, at which point Addy will serve as treasurer.
LaRowe’s starting salary will be $102,500 per year, according to a Jan. 22 offer letter to her from Short.
Short told The Islander he was analyzing to determine pay adjustments to match Addy’s slated reduction in duties, but he did not provide a timeline for the study’s completion.
Neither Short nor Addy provided Addy’s current salary despite several requests from Islander publisher Bonner Joy by email, starting Jan. 10 and several more times and by this reporter March 4 and March 7.
As of March 10, the requests had not been fulfilled by the city, although Addy texted The Islander before noon saying she would comply when she was “out of meetings.”
Short said March 10 the requests would be filled later that day.
There was no response by press time, which was noon March 10. Chapter 119 of the Florida statutes states that public record requests must be acknowledged “promptly” and responded to “in good faith.”
LaRowe will wrap up in St. Pete Beach before her vacation and then head to work in Anna Maria.
She said she has been studying the city’s charter and code of ordinances, as well as speaking with Addy, to prepare for the role.
