News

By Rich Pollack

    Valerie Oakes knows local government.
    The daughter of a mother who worked for the town of Palm Beach for 17 years and a stepfather who worked for several small towns, Oakes grew up listening to talk about public service at the dinner table.
    Oakes, who turns 31 this month, has been working for small towns since she was 18, doing everything from setting up records-management systems and working as a code enforcement officer to serving as a town clerk.
    Late last month, the Highland Beach Town Commission officially promoted Oakes from interim town manager to permanent town manager, approving a contract that includes a $133,000-a-year annual base salary plus a $600-a-month car allowance.
    The decision to elevate Oakes from the job she has been doing since the departure of former Town Manager Beverly Brown in early September was unanimous and largely supported by members of the community.         
    “Valerie is the right person for this town at this time,” said Vice Mayor Bill Weitz. “We’ve had several months to evaluate her in this position and she’s excelled at every possible skill level.”
    Weitz said often leaders must decide when filling a position based on résumés and short interviews. Having Oakes serve in the interim job for several months, he said, gave the Town Commission an advantage.
    “We have a person who we know is professionally competent and able to perform at the highest level,” he said.
    Oakes said she, too, has benefited from serving as interim town manager.
    “It gave me the confidence I needed to know that I could do the job,” she said.
    Oakes said she wasn’t sure at first whether to apply for the manager position in part because she really enjoyed being town clerk, a position she held for nearly two years after having served as deputy town clerk for seven years.  In fact, Oakes continued to serve as both town clerk and interim town manager since September, staying in her small office in front of Town Hall rather than moving to the larger manager’s office not so visible to the public.
    During her time as interim town manager, Weitz said, Oakes has helped raise staff morale and improved communication with the commission and residents.
    “She is fair, objective and professional,” Weitz said. “She leads the operation without getting involved in the politics.”
    Resident John Boden, who has been working to make crosswalks along State Road A1A safer, said he was impressed with Oakes’ organizational and management skills.
    “Valerie has the ability to keep herself and those working with her organized even with many balls in the air at the same time,” he said.
    A single mother of two, Oakes is working toward a bachelor’s degree in public administration while working full time. Her career in local government began when she was right out of high school and started a contractual job working with Lake Clarke Shores, setting up its records management system. She later moved to Royal Palm Beach, where she served as a building-permit technician before being promoted to code enforcement inspector.
    It was her next move, to the small town of Haverhill, where Oakes got the chance to see the inner workings of local government firsthand, serving as the assistant to the town administrator who was also the town clerk.
    “I was in the middle of it all,” she said.
    In 2009, she accepted the deputy town clerk’s position in Highland Beach, working directly for Brown.
    She has served as president of the Palm Beach County Municipal Clerks Association and on several of the association’s committees and has worked closely with clerks from other communities, something she said will benefit her in her new job.
    During her time in Highland Beach, Oakes has gotten to know many of the residents and the issues facing the community.
    “She’s been very loyal to this town and its clear she loves this town,” Weitz said.