Kudos to Mt. Dora.
Request to remove City Attorney starts a snowball effect, with City Manager resigning too.
This is not bad news, IMHO. Our city went from a controlling city attorney model, to a controlling city manager model. Both did their own damage to Constitutional procedure. Their overreaches and cherry-picking of legal procedures had a lasting effect when it came to trust in government.
In Mt. Dora's case, if the city manager feels he can't operate without that specific city attorney, I would look at it as a Godsend that they are cleaning the decks and have a chance to start anew.
Clip of the article:
Mount Dora city manager cites problems with leadership, announces resignation
snip
This announcement comes on the heels of the shocking call for the immediate dismissal of city attorney Cliff Shepard by newly elected councilman Mark Slaby . The council voted last month to instead look for potential replacements for Shepard.
(City Manager) Pastue, who has only been employed with the city for seven months, explained in the letter that newly elected council members were trying to eliminate (Deputy City Manager) Reggentin's position, which is something only the city manager can do.
He said he was going to allow Reggentin the option to resign or be terminated but felt that it would be "caving into political demands" from new leadership and would have "crippled" his ability to lead the city correctly because his termination serves no purpose, the letter states.
"We need the best people working together, which is why I would want to retain our city attorney Cliff Shepard and Mr. Reggentin," the letter reads. "Our best opportunity for success is having then part of the team. I am not sure this view is the consensus of the City Council."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/lake/os-mount-dora-city-manager-announces-resignation-20160119-story.html