By Marty Proctor
Mascotte City Manager Jim Gleason was appointed permanent city manager of Mascotte in June 2011. Nine years later, Mascotte city council is considering if it’s time for change.
Mascotte City Council held a special Planning and City Council meeting on Thursday, June 6. This was due to a power outage at the Mascotte Civic Center during Tuesday’s regular meeting.
Most local attendees and Zoom participants focused on the renewal of the City Manager’s contract. The majority of the marathon meeting was consumed with public input, Council discussion, and legal guidance.
The final outcome was a series of votes to begin the process of terminating the City Manager’s contract. The first vote was 3-2 in favor of termination. That resolution was later retracted. A further and final resolution for the night was a move to alter the City code to match the City charter. This resolution will allow the City Council to terminate the contract with a simple majority rather than a supermajority (4-1).
The next step in the process, a reading of that resolution at another special Council meeting on June 16. That resolution will receive a second reading at a subsequent Council meeting. Then the City Council will decide if they wish to vote again to terminate the contract. The June 16 meeting will be a hybrid meeting allowing in-person or Zoom participation.
These legal steps are required since the contract has an automatic renewal clause if the City Council does not present written notice of intent to not renew. Since that deadline had passed, the City was only left with the choice to formally renew the contract, do nothing which allows the automatic renewal, or vote to terminate. Terminating the contract will be a lengthy process and trigger the cost of a severance package to the City.
Mascotte City Council meeting June 16
The City of Mascotte held a City Council June 16 at the Tedder Civic Center. The hybrid teleconference and in person meeting lasted 8 minutes. There were 8 local residents in attendance and one by teleconference.
The single agenda item was the first reading of Ordinance 2020-07-605. The ordinance amending city code by deleting Chapter 2- Administration, Article VII-City Manager of the code which covers the City Manager-The appointment, termination, and powers of the City Manager.
The Charter states that the city manager shall be removed from office only by a majority vote of the full council. By deleting this chapter from the City Code, the Council will be reverting to the 2011 citizen approved City Charter. The charter defines the same aspects as the code for the city manager position. The charter does not include the need for a 4-1 supermajority vote to terminate the city manager. The ordinance change was approved 5-0.
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for July 7, and will likely include the second reading of this ordinance change.
For additional Information: https://cityofmascotte.civicweb.net/portal/
