City attorney, interim city manager fear Palatka operations hitting 'standstill'
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Palatka Commissioner Will Jones and Mayor Robbi Correa
The Palatka City Commission voted Thursday to prohibit city employees from making new hires and enacting policy changes, a move some officials fear will bring city operations to a halt.
The matter was introduced as an emergency item during commissioner comments near the end of the meeting. Commissioners approved the matter, which still allows for the hiring of police and other emergency officials, in a 4-1 vote.
Mayor Robbi Correa voted against the decision, saying approving hires and making policy changes is one of the commission’s biggest priorities. The decision also halts Palatka’s ongoing search for a new city manager.
“This means the city comes to a standstill,” Correa said.
“It’s not a standstill,” replied Commissioner Will Jones, who made the motion.
“It basically is,” Correa shot back.
City Attorney Jane West said she believes the commission’s decision would negatively affect the city’s daily operations. She told the commission the city is close to hiring more people, including an affordable housing manager who would help the city’s Blight To Bright rehabilitation program.
West and interim City Manager Jonathan Griffith were visibly upset Thursday night, and crying can be heard on the recording of the meeting. Griffith said commissioners’ discussion of the matter came out of nowhere.
While the vote still allows for emergency officials to be hired, Griffith said, the city has a high turnover rate in other essential areas, such as garbage collection.
Griffith said part of his job is to hire new employees, so suspending him from performing in that capacity “severely, severely undermines my ability to manage the city and to help my staff, your staff, properly manage and service the city.”
Griffith, who has applied to become the full-time city manager, said he was left wondering where he and other city officials went wrong because they don’t feel commissioners trust them.
“Everybody wanted to have a clean meeting tonight, have a good meeting,” he said. “We failed.”
Commissioner Justin Campbell said he understood Griffith’s position, but said the vote was a business decision and not something to take personally.
Campbell said he has protected Griffith during his bid to become the full-time city manager, even going so far as to stop Griffith from divulging information that could have jeopardized his candidacy.
“If anything, I’ve protected you,” Campbell said. “So I don’t want you, at this moment, to take it personal. Let’s go home. Let’s all have a moment to debrief. We’re going to carry on with the city. You’re not going to make a hire tomorrow. You’re not going to make a hire next week with some of these positions.”
Campbell said the City Commission could have an emergency meeting if a hire needed to be made quickly.
However, West did not share Campbell's assurance about how the city would function under such stringent restrictions.
“I am concerned about how that might affect morale for the city,” West said. “I’m concerned about the existing employment offers that we have on the table. I am very concerned about the consequences of this motion.”
Commissioner Will Jones said he appreciated West’s concerns but noted the commission usually asks only her for her opinion on legal issues, not administrative issues.
“That’s what we do, too – create policy,” Jones said. “So, it’s not an argument. But can you respectfully respect our decision at this time?”
The commission unanimously approved allowing West to continue ongoing negotiations with the Police Benevolent Association union and provide commissioners with updates on a regular basis.
However, Commissioner Rufus Borom said he wanted to know about negotiation meetings before they happened. West reminded Borom the meetings are always publicly noticed through the city’s website and in the Palatka Daily News.
“Why are we not appraised of what’s happening?” He asked West. “I’m not going on no city website or finding things in the newspaper or anything like that when it’s things like that when it’s business of the city. I’m not voting on the blind on anything.”
Correa defended West, saying the attorney has been doing the job she has been hired to do.
All of the information regarding negotiations and policy changes in which West is involved goes back to the commission for final approval, said Correa, who mentioned she knows about meetings and negotiations because she has seen notifications posted online.
“Mayor, with all due respect, you seem to go along with everything that staff puts before you, for the most part,” Borom said. “This is what I’m seeing, and it’s going to cost us majorly.”