Martino: City Manager Contract Extension Premature at Best
April 1, 2015
On Thursday April 2, 2015 the City Council of Palm Beach Gardens has an agenda item to discuss an extension of the current City Manager’s employment contract with the City for two additional years from 2016 to 2018. I have a few questions for the City Council to answer. The current contract expires in 2016, so why now? Why the rush? Are there specific and compelling reasons for this extension?
This call for an extension to this City Manager’s contract has been promulgated before, in July 2014 at two Council meetings, and at a September 2014 meeting. There was Public comment, press coverage, and a news article in the Palm Beach Post featuring City Manager, Ron Ferris, and his commentary specifically dealing with this extension. I will return to his comments in a bit.
As the Public Record reflects, in no particular order, without identifying the Councilperson, and as I understand them to be, below are the City Council’s reasons for extending the City Manager’s contract to 2018. My comment to each is below.
- …our leader, the City Manager should be able to stay here as long as he wants…
Really, I thought our leader was the City Council and the City Manager’s length of service to the City is determined by the City Council.
- …we control the City now…term limits will change that…
How arrogant! How insulting to the residents! Term limits are now a reality, and yes, Councilperson, they will change that, thankfully.
- …we owe it to the City Manager because of his future plans…
The personal future plans of the City Manager are his to deal with and not the City’s.
To my knowledge there have been no Public comments from the City Manager on the contract extension. Therefore, I must return to the Palm Beach Post article to find quotes from City Manager as to why his contract should be extended. What the City Manager says and my commentary on them is below…
- …he wants to stay four more years…with several major developments to steer…I don’t feel like my job is done yet…
The steering of any major or minor developments is accomplished by and the responsibility of the elected City Council members’ policies and not the City Manager. The City Manager’s tenure with the City is depended primarily on the quality of the daily administration of City Council policies.
- …he has a 2-year and a 4-year plan for his succession but won’t discuss them because they involve personnel matters…
First and foremost, the City of Palm Beach Gardens is not some sort of monarchy that requires a succession plan with an anointed successor. In my opinion, the selection of a successor to any City Manager is the business and policies of the elected members of the sitting City Council and not subject to or part of any succession plan or plans by the outgoing City Manager. Secondly, if a City Manager has a plan or plans for City business, he or she, is compelled by the Sunshine Law to reveal them to the Public. As my past experience recalls, an exception for personnel matters is only relevant when negotiations are being held on Municipal Labor Union matters.
Therefore, based on the above public commentary the reasons given, thus far, for extending the current City Manager’s contract lack sound policy conviction and principle. From the above, I can only conclude that the contract extension basis is personal rather than professional both from the City Council and the City Manager’s perspectives. Until, and if, the City Council can respond for the public record with better reasons and the City Manager can enlighten the public with his plans for the City a contract extension is premature at best. From my point of view, to date full transparency for this proposed contract extension is lacking and, therefore, compromised.