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Highlands Today

Sports Complex Manager Position Might Be Eliminated

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By Jim  Konkoly | Highlands Today

Published: May 30, 2008

SEBRING — The first chop of Highlands County's budget-cutting ax fell Thursday.
It fell on the proverbial neck of Highlands County Sports Complex manager Rocky Ellingsworth.
He will not have a job with the county effective Oct. 1.

That's the day that the county's new fiscal year and new budget begin.

Ellingsworth's job is proposed to be eliminated in preliminary planning for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Ellingsworth said he does not want to comment publicly yet about this move, which was announced late Thursday afternoon during the second of three successive daylong county commission budget workshops.

But it was clear that Ellingsworth was not happy about getting the boot from the sports complex that he booked dozens of weekend tournaments for to draw out-of-town teams and their dollars into local hotels and restaurants and other businesses.

County Commissioner Don Bates confirmed that the proposed elimination of Ellingsworth's job was first announced during discussions about the next fiscal year's budget for the parks and recreation department.

"I can confirm that," Bates said shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday.

Ellingsworth was told of the budget-chopping of his job at about 9:15 a.m. Thursday.

He said that he will continue to work his work weeks of 50 hours or more and do the best that he can every day until Sept. 30, now set as his last day of working for the county unless the parks and recreation department's plan is turned down by the commissioners.

The county commissioners and their budget staff and county department directors launched preliminary discussions on the next fiscal year budget this week. Discussions will continue through this month and into July.

Bates said he didn't have a comment about the proposed elimination of the Sports Complex manager's job. He also said he could not predict if the five commissioners ultimately will approve it.

There was no information available on who, if anyone, will take over Ellingsworth's key responsibility, which was marketing and selling the five tournament quality softball fields across the state and into other states such as Georgia to out-of-town softball teams and tournament coordinators.

One reason for building the Sports Complex was to attract out-of-town softball teams to weekend tournaments to bring in their dollars for the hotels, restaurants and other businesses that serve weekend tourists.

Ellingsworth has networks with softball tournament officials and teams across the state and throughout much of the South from years of working in the public recreation field.

While it could not be confirmed, a rumor circulating among county employees Friday was that Ellingsworth's duty of selling and booking weekend tournaments may be given as an additional work duty to one of the groundskeepers at the Sports Complex.

Vicki Pontius, director of county parks and recreation, could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Ellingsworth's salary is $46,812, according to the county human resources department.

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