Six weeks after the Riviera Beach City Council voted to fire its city manager without explanation, city leaders now must face a judge on Tuesday.
Tradrick McCoy, a resident of Riviera Beach, filed a lawsuit, demanding to know the reasons for firing Jonathan Evans.
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The case goes to court at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Riviera Beach City Council has the authority to fire the city manager without reason. But on Sept. 20, they didn’t fire Evans without cause.
They fired him “for cause, for misfeasance”.
Those four words sparked a public outcry for specifics. After council refused to provide any more information, despite Councilman Terence Davis’ claim he had proof of misfeasance.
“We have the documentation and information to also support that information,” Davis said on September 20.
“That’s not my opinion that’s based on fact,” Davis said on September 21.
McCoy filed a public records request with the city clerk’s office, because that documentation Davis spoke of would be public record.
On October 3, the clerk’s office told McCoy the records he had requested could be picked up, but when he got there, they had changed their tune.
"They told me that it's in the hands of the city attorney and it had been intercepted by the city attorney's office,” McCoy said on October 3.
McCoy decided to sue, but he says he is convinced Davis had no real reasons to make the motion to fire Evans.
"It shows what I've been hearing around this community, that there is nothing to justify the firing of Mr. Evans,” McCoy said.
