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City Hall
Former City Manager Bill Shanahan was dismissed from his position at the Palatka City Commission’s virtual meeting last week, but an upcoming meeting could see him regain his job.
Mayor Terrill Hill, who voted against Shanahan’s termination, has called for an emergency city commission meeting that will take place 4 p.m. Wednesday.
“I didn’t like the idea of walking out of (last week’s) meeting and still not knowing what the circumstances were that caused us to move in that direction,” Hill said. “I think that we need to just deliberate and at least reconvene to see if these last couple of days have put us in a position where cooler heads prevail.”
During Thursday’s meeting, Commissioner Rufus Borom made the motion to fire Shanahan. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Tammie McCaskill and agreed upon by Vice Mayor Mary Lawson Brown.
When asked for further explanation during the meeting, Borom refused, citing a clause in Shanahan’s contract that stated he could be terminated with or without reason during his 180-day probationary period.
“He’s not good for our city,” Borom said during Thursday’s meeting.
Hill said Shanahan will not be attending Wednesday’s meeting, which will take place on Zoom, an online video conference program. He said the meeting will also be broadcast live on the city’s YouTube page.
According to Hill, a link to the YouTube live stream will be posted on the city’s Facebook page prior to the meeting. He said Palatka residents will have the opportunity to provide public comment through YouTube’s chat function.
“I felt like we needed to have an opportunity as a commission to talk about what happened,” Hill said.
Shanahan was appointed city manager Oct. 4 and began work a month later. Hill said a lot of Shanahan’s time in the position was consumed by the investigation of Betsy Driggers, the former city clerk who was investigated for allegedly making racist remarks and behaving unprofessionally toward her subordinates.
In March, it was announced Driggers would retire. She is currently still employed as a consultant, but her employment will end April 22. For her consulting services, she is being paid $6,500.
While none of the three commissioners who voted to fire Shanahan explained their decisions during Thursday’s meeting, Brown alluded to the methods surrounding Driggers’ investigation and retirement as a reason for her supporting the idea let go of the city manager.
“I’d like to have some discussion on it,” Brown said at the meeting. “I was unhappy with how Betsy’s termination was handled.”
Hill said he hopes the commission reconsiders its termination of Shanahan, stating commissioners have the ability to rescind the action and make adjustments to Shanahan’s contract should they choose.
“We’ve been dealing with a health crisis,” Hill said. “This isn’t the time to be looking for new leadership. It’s time to band together.”