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Opinion: City attorney's contract says no severance for resigning. So why a $73,551 payout?
Fernandina Beach taxpayers deserve an explanation of why the City Commission is being asked to approve a $73,551 separation package for City Attorney Teresa Prince, who is resigning after less than 17 months on the job.
Yet commissioners will consider a negotiated agreement next Tuesday that provides Prince with 12 weeks of severance, accrued paid time off and continued benefits. Her departure would take effect Jan. 2, 2027.
Who negotiated the departure of a charter officer who answers directly to the City Commission?
Florida's Sunshine Law generally requires discussions between commissioners about foreseeable commission business to take place at publicly noticed meetings. Individual negotiations do not automatically violate the law, but commissioners cannot use intermediaries to conduct private deliberations that should occur in public.
And more importantly, who negotiated the settlement and who authorized its financial terms.
But they warrant another question: What potential legal or financial exposure, if any, is the city paying to avoid?
Her original contract provides 20 weeks of severance if commissioners dismiss her without cause, but none if she resigns. The proposed settlement would pay $44,923.87 in severance salary, $14,974.62 in accrued paid time off and $13,653.11 in employer costs.
There may be a sound financial reason for the negotiated departure. Perhaps commissioners believe a settlement is less expensive than dismissal or potential litigation. Perhaps they consider Prince's assistance in transferring pending legal matters worth the additional compensation.
Prince's departure also comes while the city faces major legal challenges, including unresolved litigation with Rayonier Advanced Materials over its proposed bioethanol facility. The city has also confronted contentious legal issues involving downtown paid parking and airport operations.
The $73,551 settlement may therefore be only part of the cost of this transition.
Negotiated departures can sometimes save taxpayers money and avoid expensive litigation. Nothing in the available documents establishes misconduct by Prince or an improper motive by commissioners.
Will they provide the answers before voting, we'll see.
Comments
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Ralamken
In K-12 Education, we occasionally gave a senior administrator the opportunity to resign rather than be dismissed. That way, they could craft the reason for their departure, their way. We stopped when the courts found another school district guilty of forcing an employee to resign.
12 hours ago Report this
DouglasM
Mike L......I'm sure you know the answer to every single question you asked......but it is good to play the role of "the Socrates of Fernandina" and prod the citizens to think.
I doubt we will get many answers and I think the severance package will pass and they will all just move on.
She is still staying until January so things can't be too nefarious. Perhaps she just wasn't a good fit for this Commission......
12 hours ago Report this
FunnyGirl4615
The taxpaying citizens of Fernandina Beach deserve complete transparency for this matter. Likewise - the city needs to demonstrate accountability. The city is woefully short on money for all the many projects and programs it is trying to fund. $75k is not chump change in the context of city finances. Lots of questions to be answered here...
11 hours ago Report this
JoeW
Teresa, earned it! Give Terese her money! IMHO
9 hours ago Report this