Sarasota City Commission Workshop on City Manager Transition – September 9, 2024
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Sarasota City Commission Workshop on City Manager Transition – September 9, 2024
The Sarasota City Commission held a workshop on September 9, 2024, from 9:02 AM to 9:50 AM to discuss the transition of the City Manager, placement of an Interim City Manager, and selection of an executive search firm. No formal action was taken; the discussion was to guide staff in preparing future agenda items. The meeting was prompted by the impending departure of City Manager Marlon Brown, with a vacancy expected within 35 days (by October 15, 2024).
Discussion Items
- Interim City Manager Options: Human Resources Director Stacie Mason presented three options: (1) using the Florida League of Cities and Florida City and County Management Association's Members-In-Transition (MIT) program, (2) advertising for an interim, or (3) appointing an internal senior executive. Commissioners discussed the pros and cons, including whether the interim could apply for the permanent position. Vice Mayor Ahearn-Koch favored the MIT option and a national search, but was undecided on allowing the interim to apply for the permanent role. Commissioner Trice also favored the MIT option, noting that MITs are typically not interested in permanent placement. Mayor Alpert saw arguments on both sides and favored a national search. Deputy City Manager Pat Robinson confirmed he is not a candidate for interim or permanent city manager, preferring to remain in his current role.
- Executive Search Firm: The Commission favored a national search. Staff was directed to bring back information on several firms, including costs and terms. The search firm would work with the commission to define qualifications and the interview process, including community input. Vice Mayor Ahearn-Koch requested case studies from other cities that have undergone similar transitions.
- Strong Mayor Referendum: Commissioner Arroyo raised the possibility of placing a referendum on the ballot for an elected strong mayor. Vice Mayor Ahearn-Koch, Mayor Alpert, and Commissioner Trice opposed, noting that the community has repeatedly rejected the idea and that city manager forms of government are statistically more successful for cities of Sarasota's size. Deputy City Manager Robinson noted that the earliest such a referendum could appear on the ballot is two years, and that this could be a separate future agenda item.
Key Outcomes
- Staff will prepare options for an Interim City Manager appointment, including engaging the MIT program, advertising, or internal placement, and return to the Commission for a decision before the October 15 vacancy deadline.
- Staff will bring back proposals for national executive search firms, including costs and terms, for Commission selection.
- The Commission will consider placing a future agenda item to discuss the possibility of a strong mayor referendum, as suggested by Commissioner Arroyo.
- No formal votes were taken; all decisions are to be made at subsequent meetings.
Meeting Transcript
I love it more and more. I adore that lead over show. I'm having fun in Sarasota with the sun and the sandwich. I'm having fun. I'm having fun. I'm happy. With the sun and the sand and we'll see. We're having fun. We're the sun and the sun in the sun. It's magical for all if you believe. The novelty, she's never second best. So her future is unknown. She'll never stand alone. Sarah Soda is my home. But most of all, I want to sing it loud. And it's no surprise I want to make you proud. My sweet hometown. The city's full of life, told you. But most of all, I want to sing it loud. It's no surprise I want to make you proud, my sweet home town. Sun races her on every turn. Her beaches are the eating the other world. She's always another one. Sarah Soda, you're her love. What they can do is put in the agenda request the standards. Whoops. Good morning, everyone. I want to call to order this September 9th, uh, twenty twenty-four city commission workshop and the birthday of my daughter Leslie. So I read those. We wanted to kind of walk through that, and then at the end, of course, we hand it back to the commission. Um, we'll talk through some kind of action items, maybe a framework for this whole discussion. Um, we got big decisions to come, so I'll jump right into the PowerPoint. AC, just real quick. Just a reminder for for the mayor, vice mayor, commissioners that are here. Um, no action will be taken today. Just I know everybody wants to jump in, and this is uh an exciting time and a really interesting opportunity in the history of of Sarasota. But this is just for discussion, and whatever we decide we'll bring back on a future agenda item for actual action. So please remember that. But just we're just talking about it. So thank you very much. Thanks, Stacy. Madam Mayor. Yes. One comment is well, um, we do have just for the record, we do have Commissioner Oroyo Owen on Zoom. Okay. So this will be a vacation of one of our charter official positions. The time frame for our vacancies is within the next 35 days. So it's pretty expedited. We will review some possible next steps. They have been bifurcated into two different action plans for the commission's consideration.
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