County Manager's Bio

RANDALL H. REID
COUNTY MANAGER, ALACHUA COUNTY

Randall H. Reid holds a Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Dayton, Ohio. While an undergraduate at Miami University, he served on the University Disciplinary Board, played for the Miami Rugby Club, was a Residential Adviser in the athletic dorm and was named to the President's List of Distinguished Undergraduate Scholars. Throughout his career he has taught graduate and undergraduate classes in public administration, public finance, and state and local government.

Mr. Reid has served as County Manager for Alachua County since December, 1999.

  • Prior to coming to Gainesville he served in Martin County, Florida (Stuart) as Deputy County Administrator and for 14 months as Acting County Manager.
  • From 1987 to 1994 he served as City Manager of Titusville, Florida and also served as Executive Director of the Titusville Community Redevelopment Agency.
  • Prior to coming to Florida, Mr. Reid served as City Administrator of Green River, Wyoming and as Assistant City Manager of Vandalia, Ohio.

These positions have provided him with very practical experiences that enabled him to improve financial management practices, create team-based management, effectively manage capital projects, advance strategic economic development efforts, and enhance the quality of neighborhoods in the communities he has managed. He moved to county management in 1994.

Mr. Reid is active in a number of professional associations including the International City Management Association, the Florida City/County Management Association, where he has served as both President and Chairman of the Ethics Committee for Professional Conduct. In this capacity he continues to annually instruct new professionals on ethical responsibilities. He is a former member of both the American Society of Public Administration and the American Planning Association. His professional goal is to enhance the credibility of county government with the public through providing responsive services while remaining always fiscally accountable to the taxpayers.

Mr. Reid's personal mission is "to create respect for people and place." He believes that the greatest challenge nationally faced by today's local governments is to meaningfully engage citizens in representative democratic government. He is dedicated to building sustainable organizations and communities and has spoken widely at state and national professional conferences on this subject. Mr. Reid believes communities and their leaders must develop a respect for natural systems, strong local economics, and social justice for their citizens. He serves on the Smart Growth advisory group of the International City/County Management Association and has spoken nationally on the subject of leading organizational change, growth management, and sustainability. Mr. Reid believes that sustainability has as much to do with how we ethically govern and engage our citizens, as it does with how we build viable communities by encouraging best development practices.

Mr. Reid, a native of OHIO, now lives in Alachua County with his wife Connie and has three children. He is an Eagle Scout, a Christian, and is personally active in community and church leadership activities.