Jim Stokes can keep his $200,000 per year job as Port St. Lucie’s interim city attorney and his $99,000 per year post as Sebastian’s city attorney.
The Port St. Lucie City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve a one-year deal with Stokes that will keep him in charge of the City Attorney’s Office through April 30, 2020.
Stokes will be paid a flat rate of $200,000 for the year and no city benefits because he is a contractual limited-term employee, city records show.
As part of the deal, Stokes gave up the retirement account contribution of 10.5 percent of his salary that he received last year, city records show.
Mayor Greg Oravec objected to Stokes receiving any employee benefits because Stokes did not want to show up at Port St. Lucie City Hall at least four days per week.
Instead, Stokes will be expected to spend two or three days per week at Port St. Lucie City Hall as part of his 40-hour work week, city records show.
Stokes said he will also spend two days per week at Sebastian City Hall.
“It works out pretty well,” Stokes said before Monday’s council meeting.
“It’s a quiet little town,” Stokes said of Sebastian. “They definitely don’t have any issues as we have down here.”
Stokes is also free to continue his practice as an arbitrator, hearing officer, magistrate and board counsel with existing clients, city records show. But he can’t take on any non-government or new clients.
The Port St. Lucie city attorney oversees an office with eight attorneys, five paralegals, a legal secretary and an annual budget of $2.5 million.
Several City Council members credited Stokes with restoring stability to the City Attorney’s Office, which had been racked by turmoil for several years. The council hired Stokes in February 2018 when former City Attorney Reggie Osenton resigned after an investigation into dysfunction in the office uncovered a sexist hiring criteria list.
Osenton replaced former City Attorney Pam Booker after the City Council fired her in February 2016 for poor communications and questionable legal strategies.
Booker replaced her longtime boss, former City Attorney Roger Orr, who resigned in April 2014 after three council members were accused of Sunshine violations.
