UPDATE: A motion passed Wednesday night to pay former city manager Jonathan Evans as if he was fired “without cause.”
The payout to Evans “for cause” was $14,000. Since he was fired “without cause” Evans’ payout will now be $83,000.
EARLIER STORY:
The Riviera Beach City Attorney, Andrew DeGraffenreidt, is attempting to rewrite history.
A month after city manager Jonathan Evans was fired "for cause," those three city council members never disclosed what those reasons were.
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On Tuesday, DeGraffenredit wrote a memo to all council members and the mayor, demanding that they categorize the firing of Evans to "without cause."
"It is my legal opinion that the former manager was terminated "without cause," DeGraffenreidt wrote in the memo.
That is not what happened on Sept. 20 when Councilman Terence Davis made the motion to fire Evans.
"I'm prepared to make a motion to relinquish and fire the city manager, at this time, immediately, for cause for misfeasance," Davis said on Sept. 20.
Davis even repeated his motion.
"Just for clarity," Davis said on Sept. 20. "I made a motion to fire the city manager, he's on a month-to-month contract, for misfeasance."
Council members Lynne Hubbard and Dawn Pardo joined Davis' motion. Council members KaShamba Miller-Anderson and Tonya Davis Johnson were left in the dark.
Davis told them on Sept. 20, he couldn't give details on advice of the city attorney.
Now, a month later, the city attorney basically wants to change the record.
Councilwoman Miller-Anderson said she wants an outside attorney to advise council as to what to do.
"I no longer have any faith or confidence in the city attorney's ability to neutrally handle the situation," Miller-Anderson said in a statement.
This after DeGraffenreidt asked city officials, shortly after Evans was fired, to pay him as if he was fired “without cause”.
City officials declined.
The payout to Evans “for cause” is $14,000. If he was fired “without cause” Evans’ payout is $83,000.
Evans said this is not a mutual agreement and it is still not changing the fact that Davis had accused him of wrong doing.
