Former county manager brings ‘practical knowledge’

Andre’Anna Stonom/Staff Writer 

George Burgess, former Miami-Dade County Manager is now part of the University as professor in the Department of Public Administration.

Burgess holds 28 years of public service experience across various levels of government. In Miami-Dade, he served for eight years as Assistant County Manager, County Manager and County Budget Director.

Currently, Burgess also doubles as Chief Operating Officer for Becker & Poliakoff, a local law firm.

“Every issue imaginable can and will come up,” Burgess said. “Hurricanes, elections, zoos, airport renovation projects…. It is different than the leadership role I now have in the private sector.”

During the current summer semester and in the fall, Burgess will teach PAD 6227 Public Finance & Budgeting to roughly 20 graduate students.

“I feel the experiences I’ve had are going to be really interesting to the students,” Burgess said.  “I look forward to showing the students how to perform in the working world [with] knowledge that will be useful to them in their careers.”

As County Manager, he managed over 27,000 employees and a multi-million dollar budget.

“The course provides a kind of practical knowledge of experience that you just can’t get out of a book,” Burgess said. “It really compliments the academics and the theory to be able to share the reality of things. This is how it happens in real life.”

Currently, Burgess’s course is taught at the graduate level only, yet he is hopeful that if the need arises, the course will be opened to undergraduates as well.