SEBASTIAN — The morning after Sebastian Mayor Richard Gillmor was ousted from his leadership post, he took to Bob Soos’s radio show on WTTB 1490AM to discuss what happened. For several minutes, Gillmor lambasted his fellow Council members and raised concerns that there might have been Sunshine Law violations.
It was his comments on the radio show that prompted Councilwoman Andrea Coy to seek a special City Council meeting Wednesday evening to address the issue. And after an hour of discussing the matter, Gillmor had enough.
“I’m still standing and I’m not going to put up with your foolishness,” Gillmor said after spending a little more than one minute reading Scripture. He then left the dais and walked out of the Council Chambers.
Council continued to discuss the situation for nearly an hour after Gillmor’s departure.
Among the comments expressed on the radio last Thursday that raised Council’s concern, were statements by Gillmor that he had perhaps overstepped his role as Mayor. Gillmor said that one charge lobbed at him was that he had been directing City staff – telling staff to do such-and-such task.
“I guess I’m guilty of that,” he said on the radio. He explained that he often spends 20 to 30 hours a week at City Hall doing his homework on items that would come before Council. In that time, he said, he’s built relationships with staff.
On the radio, Gillmor questioned what is the point of having a Mayor if the Mayor can’t talk to staff? He also wondered why bother having a Charter if it only takes three votes to remove the Mayor.
The Mayor’s role, according to the City’s Charter, is to officiate Council meetings, sign pertinent paperwork and represent the City at events.
Neither the Mayor nor members of Council are allowed to direct staff to do anything. Instead, they are to work directly with the Charter Officers – the City Attorney, the City Manager, and the City Clerk – and even then, only with support from the majority of the Council.
Mayor McPartlan, who has previously served as Mayor, said the position is largely ceremonial – that the Mayor has no authority to hire or fire staff or tell anyone what to do. He said that he has heard from staff that some believe the Mayor can indeed fire them – “It’s not true,” he said.
Coy voiced regret that the matter came to a Special Call Council meeting, explaining that she thought last Wednesday’s reorganization had gone cordially – until she heard Gillmor on the radio.
“It all went out the window,” she said.
Vice Mayor Jerome Adams expressed displeasure in the meeting on the whole.
“Mr. Gillmor is probably overzealous,” he said, adding that it’s only because Gillmor really cares about the City. “I don’t understand why we’re doing this. It’s just really troubling.”
Adams said he wished the whole matter had been handled differently.
McPartlan agreed, wishing that they had not needed the reorganization and wishing that all members of Council knew their proper roles as spelled out in the Charter. He said the meeting was needed because when Council oversteps, it undermines the City Manager’s authority and affects employee morale.
“That’s why we are here,” he said.
Though Gillmor left mid-discussion, the Council agreed that the meeting served at least one purpose – to remind each member that their roles are defined in the Charter and that the main difference between Mayor and Council is the ability to run the Council meetings and sign papers.