Volusia County has hired an assistant county manager, one of the top positions in county government leadership, who will focus on special projects.
Gus Zambrano, 61, is coming to Volusia from the post of assistant city manager of Hollywood, Florida. The Volusia County Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday, Aug. 19, to approve him for the assistant county manager role. His salary is $185,000.
It’s not the first time the county has had an assistant county manager, but the position has been vacant for a while, County Manager George Recktenwald said.
“It’s going to fill a need that we’ve had for a while for special projects,” Recktenwald said.
Among those projects is Transform386, which is handling well over $400 million in federal funding for Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Milton recovery projects.
Zambrano also applied for the city manager position in Venice and made it to a group of six finalists, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
But he said Volusia County was the first place he applied when he thought about leaving South Florida.
“I’ve grown up in urban areas all my life, so to see the special nature and the special place that Volusia is, is something that really needs to be preserved,” he said.
Zambrano said his love of nature and skillset, which includes a background in economic development, bring a balance to the role. That sentiment received support from councilmen.
“The balance between those two are critical because the economy needs to flow in order to be able to do everything else,” he said.
Who is Volusia County’s new assistant county manager?
Zambrano just moved to Port Orange. He has a wife and four children who are all grown, he said.
His background includes economic development, real estate and government, according to his resume.
From 2015 to 2025, he was an assistant city manager in Hollywood, Florida, and focused on sustainable development. That role included overseeing development services, public works and utilities, parks, and design and construction management. There, he managed an over $600 million five-year capital improvement program and helped secure “over $21M in Resilient Florida grants.”
From 1999 to 2015, Zambrano held several roles in the city of Miramar. Those included the director of community and economic development, where he led “a 42-member team with an operating and grants budget of $10.3M.”
Before that, he served as director of economic development and revitalization. In that role, he led efforts that brought in “over 7,100 jobs and $254 million in capital investment.”
Cindy Harris, who is running for the District 3 seat on the County Council, was the only member of the public to comment. She said she was impressed by Zambrano’s resume. But she said she’d like to see the county give people time to review candidates for positions like that. It was posted as an item on the County Council agenda.
“Giving a four-day notice is not enough,” she said, adding that she wanted to speak with Zambrano after his appointment.
“And so it begins, Gus,” County Council Chairman Jeff Brower said.
Zambrano spoke with Harris in the hall outside of County Council chambers.
“I like to listen to people. I really pride myself on being a good listener,” Zambrano said in an interview with The News-Journal. “I try and solve problems that everyday people experience with the bureaucracy of government.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia hires new assistant county manager from South Florida
Reporting by Sheldon Gardner, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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