Ocala city councilors voted to renew the contracts of the city manager, police chief, city clerk and city attorney at its Sept. 15 meeting inside city hall.
Police Chief Mike Balken, City Clerk Angel Jacobs and City Attorney William Sexton were unanimously selected 5-0 for another two years. Those voting yes were Council President Ire Bethea Sr., President Pro Tem Jay Musleh, and Ocala Council members Kristen Dreyer, Jim Hilty and Barry Mansfield.
City Manager Pete Lee's confirmation for another two years was 4-1 with Hilty voting no.
Clay Albright, a local businessman, told the councilors he has problems with the city's code enforcement board and the city's bureaucracy. He requested unsuccessfully that the council delay Lee's vote for 60 to 90
days to address the issue.
Albright, who questioned Lee's leadership, said he was speaking on behalf of some business leaders who are afraid of saying anything for fear of retaliation.
Support for Lee
Hilty said several downtown businesses have closed their doors and suggested that Lee has not addressed the issue. He said if downtown is the business hub, then it should be treated as such and the council should make a change at the leadership level.
Mansfield said he has received calls about code enforcement, but believes Lee is doing a good job. He said he has talked to Lee about code enforcement and changes have been made. He said he's 100% behind Lee. Mansfield said in his meetings with the county, contractors have told him they like dealing with the city.
Musleh said he supports Lee, and having being on the code enforcement board and knows what the job entails, he understands the frustration because it's a thankless job.
The councilman said now is not the time to change city managers and indicated he's not prepared to go through the hassle of replacing the city manager like what they did in 2022.
Dreyer and Mayor Ben Marciano said they've heard similar complaints about code enforcement. Despite that, they said they believe Lee is doing a good job for the city. As mayor, Marciano doesn't have a vote.
In other city news
At the meeting, it was announced that the elevator will be out of service for a month, from Sept. 16 to Oct. 16, and again in December for service.
At the January meeting, elected leaders voted 5-0 to fix the elevator, which has been in use since the late 1960s, at a cost of $188,545. City officials were told the parts were difficult to obtain and the elevator only has five years left if nothing is done.
Also at the meeting, city officials were told that no golf carts are allowed to park inside the two parking garages due to a resolution not authorizing it. The issue to change it may resurface in October.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Which charter officers had contracts renewed by the Ocala City Council?
