Fellow voters and residents of
Hillsobro Beach,
We are sad to report that the Town Commission is on the verge of potentially passing a Town Charter amendment to hire a Town Manager, but in name only. The Manager would have neither the Police Department nor Town Clerk reporting to him/her, thus making the position inconsequential, ineffective and a waste of their salary. The Pelican newspaper summed up the Commission workshop meeting over this issue like this.
The Commission will vote on this charter amendment on December 2. Because we believe that this position, without the required authority would simply be a waste with little if any benefit, we sent the following note to the Commissioners:
A great commentary describing where we are now and why a Town Manager should be hired by Hillsboro Beach was written by the Pelican staff in the Friday, November 21 edition, titled "Government in Hillsboro Beach must step into the present". It is worth a read.
We are sad to report that the Town Commission is on the verge of potentially passing a Town Charter amendment to hire a Town Manager, but in name only. The Manager would have neither the Police Department nor Town Clerk reporting to him/her, thus making the position inconsequential, ineffective and a waste of their salary. The Pelican newspaper summed up the Commission workshop meeting over this issue like this.
The Commission will vote on this charter amendment on December 2. Because we believe that this position, without the required authority would simply be a waste with little if any benefit, we sent the following note to the Commissioners:
Dear Commissioners,
We, the HBA, urge you to REJECT the Town Charter amendment to hire a Town Manager as it is currently written. We strongly endorse the idea of a Town Manager with full responsibility, but we believe that a manager whose portfolio includes roughly half the Town's budget and staff would not make financial or administrative sense. It would be a waste of taxpayer funds while potentially setting up organizational conflict.
The Town Manager should have all Town departments and staff reporting to that position. Without this provision, the charter amendment should be voted down. Without it, it is a bad change which is much worse than no change at all.
Many of the Town's citizens agree with this position.
Should you reconsider and approve a vote for a Town Manager with full authority, enclosed is an updated Charter amendment with that verbiage.
Most residents we have talked to agreed with this stand. Please help by voicing your opinion to the Commission to either fully authorize the 'Town Manager' in the Charter amendment or to reject the amendment as it is currently written. You can find a copy of an updated Charter amendment that would be acceptable here, which we also shared with the Commission.
Respectfully yours,
Hillsboro Beach Advocates
A great commentary describing where we are now and why a Town Manager should be hired by Hillsboro Beach was written by the Pelican staff in the Friday, November 21 edition, titled "Government in Hillsboro Beach must step into the present". It is worth a read.
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