Long-time Titusville planning director Peggy Busacca to step down in August

Long-time Titusville planning director Peggy Busacca announced her retirement recently after three decades in local government, leaving behind a potential gap in a municipality strained by staff shortages and a big list of developments.

Busacca, a former county manager and the current head of planning, has worked in Titusville for more than a decade. She announced last week that she will be stepping down on Aug. 12. 

City council member Jo Lynn Nelson said losing Busacca’s expertise will require a huge adjustment for the council and those who’ve come to depend on her. 

“She is a wealth of knowledge. It’s going to be so hard to replace her,” Nelson said. “Peggy has provided a lot of guidance for us and our decision making. I don’t know that we always do exactly what she believes we should do but we are always really careful to listen to her,” she added. 

Busacca herself said the concern over her leaving is unnecessary and that business will continue as usual with the normal challenges. 

“I have never wanted to be indispensable and I’m not indispensable now,” she said. “We work as a team here and the idea that the wheels are going to come off when I leave is really overrated. You won’t even notice. In two weeks people will be saying, ‘Peggy who?'”

She added that the biggest challenge facing her department and other planning departments around the Space Coast is finding enough qualified people to keep up with the amount development taking place throughout Brevard County. 

“Most of the planning departments in the county are having trouble finding enough people to fill positions,” Busacca added. 

Her successor, head planner Brad Parrish, said it’s been a “challenge” to find people for the department. “We are working a lot of hours and time to keep up with the development proposals,” he said.

Parrish said he thinks Busacca’s departure will place a strain the city as it faces staff shortages and more development pressures, and said that the long-serving civil servant will be sorely missed.

“She just has been a great person to work with providing great outstanding leadership. Everybody’s sorry to see her leave but they understand, she’s dedicated over three decades to local government,” he said. “She’s leaving some pretty big shoes to fill.” 

Busacca previously worked in county government for many years before taking on the role of county manager for four years before resigning in 2009 after pressure from the County Commission over concerns about the budget

This aricle first appeared on FloridaToday.com