Lake City City Manager Search, Applicants-Part II Final Nine Applicants Released – City Council Gives Search the Silent Treatment
February 6, 2024 8:55 am | 2 min read | Update Feb. 7, 2024 2:30 pm
LAKE CITY, FL –
Last night in City Hall, one might have wondered
if the Mossad had a wrap on the Lake City City
Manager search applications. The HR Manager released
nine more applications on Monday afternoon,
making a total of twenty-two applicants. Not one
word was mentioned by the Council members, the
Mayor, or the Interim City Manager regarding the
City Manager search.
Feb. 7, 2024, 2:30 pm
Update via HR Dir BillieJo
Bible
Council members did not request to view the
applications as they were submitted.
Applications are being printed for the Council.
The Council will decide who to interview and
when. Two applicants withdrew: Justin Shaw and
Collin Mays. The position was advertised on
govtjobs.com, employflorida.com, and the city
website. The Florida League of Cities ignored
the City's request to advertise the position.
Also absent from the evening’s agenda was any mention of the City Manager search.
As metioned in Part-I, the minimum qualifications are in the City Manager job description and the City Charter (§ 401), which states: "The city council shall appoint a city manager for an indefinite term. The compensation of the city manager shall be fixed by the council. The city manager shall hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited four (4) year college or university and have either ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in municipal or corporate management in a senior management position or any equivalent combination of training and experience.”
All the candidates are college graduates: six have master’s degrees.
The nine applicants all reside in Florida, with five having Lake City addresses.
Of the latest group of applicants, only one did not provide all the requested information (an application), Leroy Marshall, a well-known and highly regarded SRWMD engineer.
Interim City Manager Dee Johnson: He did not apply
Interim
City Manager Dee Johnson did not apply. He does
not meet the requirements to be City Manager,
and even if he finally attained a college
degree, he does have the experience to do the
job.
Lake City Mayor Steve Witt continues to allow Council meetings to careen out of control, continuing to allow community activist Sylvester Warren to comment whenever he wants – about whatever he wants. Incredibly, Mr. Warren, during one of his trips to the microphone, was the only one who mentioned the City Manager search during the meeting.
Epilogue
The next Lake City City Manager will have their hands full.
