The Ocala City Council abruptly fired City Manager Sandra Wilson Tuesday night, at the conclusion of a meeting in which Wilson’s employment status was not listed as an agenda item for the board to consider.
Council member Barry Mansfield made the motion to dismiss Wilson, citing a recent report from the city auditor involving a whistleblower complaint. That report looked into two issues involving banking and contract matters but did not find any financial losses to the city nor any evidence that they rose “to the level of “gross management.’’ Council members James Hilty and Kristen Dreyer joined Mansfield in the vote to dismiss Wilson, who has served as city manager since June 2020.
Council members Ire Bethea and Jay Musleh dissented, with Musleh saying the issue should be set as an agenda item for a later council meeting.
After the vote, Wilson, the first Black person to ever serve in the position, asked to address the council. “I’d like to say I appreciate the opportunities that have been provided to me as a city manager of this awesome city,’’ she said. “It’s been a great experience. I’ve been with the city for 22 years, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s been great working with each of you. I have learned something from each of you. And you know, it’s made me a better person. And I just appreciate every experience that I’ve had here at the city of Ocala. Thank you very much.”
The council also voted to name Pete Lee as interim city manager. Lee was appointed an assistant city manager at the end of July 2021 at the bequest of the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership. Ken Ausley, a executive board member on the CEP board of directors, had recommended Lee’s appointment to Wilson during a June 22, 2021.
Two other members of the CEP board, Doug Cone and Rich Bianculli, walked into council chambers near the end of Tuesday’s meeting and positioned themselves up front just as Mansfield began his motion to dismiss Wilson. During the discussion on Wilson’s fate, Betha said “outside forces” were motivating the attacks on Wilson.
Asked after the meeting about the CEP’s possible involvement in his appointment as assistant city manager and now interim city manager, Lee said he had no knowledge of any actions taken by the group in that regard. When asked his thoughts on the auditor’s report that lead to the firing of Wilson, Lee indicated he hadn’t read it.
The auditor’s report:
There were two auditor’s reports that were considered by the council on April 19. One was from the accounting firm Purvis & Gray sharing a positive conclusion to their extensive financial audit of the city’s financial statements and internal controls. That report drew no discussion from the city council. The auditor’s report referenced by Mansfield was by city auditor, Randall Bridgeman.
The first complaint from the whistleblower referenced events that began in 2019 under then-City Manager John Zoebler who resigned abruptly in November 2019 and Wilson was appointed interim city manager. The contract for the city’s banking services was set to expire on April 30, 2020, and the whistleblower complained the city’s CFO, assistant city manager Bill Kaufman, did not act quickly enough to start the process to put a new banking contract in place. The events were unfolding a month after the COVID-19 pandemic exploded, impacting governments and businesses around the world. According to the auditor’s report, an invitation to negotiate a new banking agreement was solicited on April 23, 2020.
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