A special meeting of the Brooksville City Council this evening, the final three applicants for the new city manager were announced by the city clerk, after she tallied the votes. The top three candidates are Lester B. Baird, Mitchell N. Bobowski and Jennene Norman-Vacha.
Guidelines for the interview process were also voted on this evening by council. In this interview process, the Brooksville City Council members will treat the three applicants and their spouses to dinner at the Brooksville Country Club at taxpayer expense. Council Richard Lewis was the only one that objected to using tax money to have dinner with the applicants.
When city attorney, David LaCroix was questioned about the Sunshine Law and publicly advertising this dinner, he said it was not necessary. The only thing the the city council had to do was not talk to each other at this dinner about city business. How does that work? City council members carrying on a conversation with potential candidates for the new city manager position at dinner and this doesn't violate the Sunshine Law? Isn't it the city council's primarily responsible for the hiring of the new city manager under the city charter?
Oh well, never mind. The city council has violated the city charter three or four times already, why should they worry if the Sunshine Laws are violated with this purely social dinner?
3 comments:
How do you propose they interview their final three?
Last night, the city council approved a 1-1/2 day long interview process. Day one consists of city tours by two department heads in the city van. Next, a question & answer period by the citizens and taxpayers in council chambers, then the dinner at taxpayer expense at the country club. Day two involves city council members & a selected group of rank/file city employees conducting personal interviews with the applicants, followed by a public reception. The city council will then choose the new manager.
Sounds like a very good and thorough plan for selecting our new City Manager. Thanks for the explanation!e
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