The Seminole County Port Authority board votes this week on giving port director Dennis Dolgner a new annual salary of $127,036, up from $93,808. The revised pay check would make Dolgner the highest paid property manager in Florida, according to GlobeSt.com research. Dolgner also has unlimited use of a Seminole County government vehicle, a $3,800 annual entertainment budget and a no-cost $100,000 life insurance policy.

Dolgner, 60, has run the 120-acre, 54-tenant, 95%-leased Seminole County Industrial park for 24 years, without a formal contact and with a staff of two--himself and his wife. His operation of the park has been commended for years by elected officials.

The park has a budget of $2 million and generates annual revenue of $1.5 million, small compared with nearby parks in Seminole and Orange counties. The port's average profit over the past five years is $463,000, according to port authority staffers. The park is run entirely from the revenue it produces without property tax subsidies.

Dolgner's new salary would compare with County Manager Kevin Grace who earns $132,000, supervises 3,000 employees and has a budget of $500 million. Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger makes $126,706, oversees 1,000 staffers with a budget of $53 million. Dolgner was Eslinger's campaign manager when the sheriff ran for re-election three years ago.

Critics of the proposed salary increase for Dolgner can't understand why the director of a $1.5 million industrial real estate park merits such a lofty pay hike. Port Authority board members Ben Tucker and Bob Goff also are questioning why Dolgner is paid so much.

Other critics tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity that Seminole County could pay far less for port director services by contracting with a professional commercial real estate brokerage to do the same job.

Tucker, Goff and Dolgner couldn't be reached at GlobeSt.com's publication deadline for comment. But county staffers intimate with the issue tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity that Dolgner has the majority of the port authority board backing him for the salary increase.

Instant Insights /

Highest Paid Property Manager in Florida Up for Raise

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