The city of High Springs voted 3-2 Thursday to decline firing City Manager Jeremy Marshall with cause and will instead take the next two weeks to negotiate a settlement for a termination without cause.
The commission placed Marshall on paid leave last month after community members and some commissioners cited lack of adequate oversight, failure to supervise city employees or appropriately manage the city’s finances.
Marshall was not at Thursday’s meeting as Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Applebee and Building Official Alan Alligood serve as interim city managers in his absence.
The with or without cause designations determine whether the city pays Marshall or not, and the denied resolution would have provided Marshall the ability to request a hearing.
Mayor Andrew Miller and Commissioner Tristan Grunder dissented on the settlement negotiations. Miller said every time he’d come to the office he’d dealt with the same problems of Marshall being difficult to work with—just like citizens had said.
Grunder, who motioned during the July 23 meeting to place the city manager on leave, called it irresponsible to continue employing someone like Marshall, who he said lacked communication and trust.
“I’m quite frankly shocked this is even an option to have this negotiation,” he said. “I believe there’s more than enough cause to remove Mr. Marshall. It’s not a personal attack on his character.”
Bloodsworth said while he did believe it was time to hire a city manager who could get business done faster than Marshall’s marathon pace, he said Marshall came in at a bad time and had done his best to be transparent as he worked to correct what he was given to work with.
Weitz made the motion for a settlement because she said Marshall deserved it. She acknowledged citizens’ complaints about the late 2023-24 audit but said it’d come on a budget prepared by staff before Marshall’s tenure.
A few public commentors disagreed with delaying Marshall’s termination.
“We have no money to pay this man to go away,” Tannia Weaver said. “I don’t understand this motion, this payment, when you have a resolution for cause. I think you just need to see it through.”
Also on Thursday, the City Commission unanimously approved a 53% increase in its fire assessment. Chief Joseph Peters said the jump from $250 to $383 would put the city where it should’ve been years ago and is the maximum rate without a new fire study.
He said the departments recently achieved Class 3 Insurance Services Office Public Protection Classification could help lower insurance rates for homeowners and make up the difference.