The Stuart City Commission voted 3-2 Wednesday evening to rehire former City Manager Michael Mortell at a roughly $225,000 salary, less than the more than $265,000 he previously earned. The decision drew significant pushback from residents just two weeks after the dismissal of City Manager Michael Giardino.
The new contract includes conditions restricting the use of city resources for outside work and requiring the city's HR director to report any outside work to commissioners on a monthly basis. The vote is pending Mortell's agreement to the contract terms.
Resident Deana Peterson criticized the commission at Wednesday's meeting. "The transparency was not given to the citizens of Stuart. This amounts to nothing more than petty cronyism and hypocrisy. All of you who supported Mr. Giardino's firing should be ashamed of yourselves," Peterson said.
Resident Robin Cartwright defended Giardino's tenure. "Mr. Giardino got hired and was struggling with the stalemate that this commission or the former commission presented so for any commissioner up here to say that someone failed at their job I would say that you failed at your job," Cartwright said.
Resident David Kelman urged the commission to unite. "You all represent this city. You need to step back and unite because what you're doing ain't going to work. It's three versus two here," Kelman said.
Resident Joe Cooper supported the decision. "I think it's a wise move to bring Michael Mortell back," Cooper said. "I think it's a prudent move to bring him back to steer the city in the right direction."
Commissioner Campbell Rich called for contract negotiations with Mortell at the previous meeting, citing his institutional knowledge. "This is not the time for someone with training wheels to negotiate us through that very difficult period. We need the most experience we can possibly get," Rich said.
Commissioners Sean Reed and Laura Giobbi raised concerns about the rehiring. Reed questioned the process. "I also think it's a disservice to our constituents that we're taking action on a potential city manager employee which is one of the three highest levels that we have employed here at the city of Stuart but this individual is not here to be questioned," Reed said.
Giobbi pointed to divisions within the community. "The community is broken — you know, the community is. The community is so divided it's sad. And I'm sure with everybody else up here — would love to bring it to a middle ground," Giobbi said.
Reed closed the meeting with a motion to add an Oct. 12 agenda item to discuss foregoing commissioner salaries for two years to offset costs related to city manager turnover.