Lee named Ocala assistant city manager

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Posted August 5, 2021 | Ocala Gazette Staff

Pete Lee was recently named an assistant city manager for Ocala as part of a reorganization of the city’s administration.

Lee joins fellow assistant city managers, Bill Kaufmann and Ken Whitehead. When City Manager Sandra Wilson was hired as city manager in 2019, it left her post of deputy city manager open.

Instead of filling that spot, she decided to hire a third assistant city manager, which is a similar structure used by previous city managers, said Ashley Dobbs, city spokeswoman.

Lee was the city’s planning director before the promotion and has worked for the city for more than 20 years. He will oversee airport operations, growth management and SunTran and community development.

Previously, the airport was part of Whitehead’s oversight.

Lee worked for the city from 1994 to 2004 before leaving. He returned in 2009.

Lee’s promotion also came with a salary increase from $113,218.60 to $150,000, Dobbs said.

Whitehead will now oversee Ocala Fire Rescue, fleet/facilities management, public works, water resources/engineering and recreation and parks. Kauffman, who is the city’s CFO, will oversee the budget, finance, procurement, fiber network/telecommunications, information technology and Ocala Electric Utility.

Both Kauffman and Whitehead were named assistant city managers in 2015.

Kauffman previously was the interim Marion County administrator before joining the city. Before Whitehead joined the city, he served as the public works and transportation managing director for Eagle County, Colorado. Before that, he was Marion County’s solid waste director for seven years.