The Downtown Investment Authority has reached an employment agreement with the candidate it selected as its next CEO.
The DIA board is scheduled to vote June 18 on a three-year deal with Colin Tarbert to succeed Lori Boyer as the lead executive for the organization. Tarbert’s annual compensation would be $297,000, pending approval of the DIA budget by the organization’s board and the Jacksonville City Council.
The agreement calls for Tarbert to begin his new duties between Aug. 4 and Aug. 8, 2025.
Boyer is scheduled to retire on June 30 after leading the DIA since 2019. Her annual salary is $221,550.
The agreement calls for Tarbert to be reimbursed for travel, professional membership dues, conference fees and continuing education subject to budget approval by the DIA board. Travel expenses also will be reimbursable.
In a related issue, the DIA board will consider naming DIA Director of Operations Guy Parola as interim CEO.
Tarbert, the former president and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corp., was selected as DIA CEO on June 9. He earned a base salary of $239,261 in Baltimore along with $33,560 in other compensation, according to ProPublica.
The DIA board chose Tarbert unanimously after interviewing him and two other finalists in person at City Hall.
The three candidates were scored on a rubric by each of seven board members who participated in the interviews. Tarbert scored 319 points, well ahead of the other two candidates.
They finalists were selected from a group of 173 applications to a recruiting firm, Jorgenson Pace of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Tarbert spent about 20 years in Baltimore, where his positions included serving in the Baltimore mayor’s office as deputy chief of strategic alliances and deputy mayor in the Office of Economic & Neighborhood Development.
Tarbert announced in early 2025 he was stepping down effective June 13 from his leadership role with the Baltimore Development Corp.
The DIA board meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Main Library, 303 N. Laura St.