The Cocoa Beach City Commission voted unanimously to accept Interim City Manager AJ’s offer to continue as city manager for up to two years and asked AJ to develop a documented succession plan for key municipal positions.

The commission’s decision followed a lengthy public interview process with five finalists and an extended internal discussion in which commissioners reported no clear majority preference among the finalists. Commissioners said they were concerned about public perception, the need for a close cultural fit with staff, and the value of on-the-ground, in-person interaction with finalists.

Commission members discussed five finalists who were interviewed during the session. Commissioners said several candidates earned multiple first- and second-choice marks in a ranked ballot process, but no single finalist received a clear majority. After an extended discussion about whether to down‑select or hold further interviews, Commissioner Skip moved to accept AJ’s willingness to remain as city manager for up to two years; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

AJ, the city’s interim manager, told the commission, “I wouldn’t be doing this, if it were a different commission,” and said he wants to use the time to strengthen staff retention and to build internal succession capacity. The city attorney clarified that, because the meeting was noticed to allow final action, the commission could lawfully take final action at that meeting.

Commissioners emphasized that the two‑year arrangement should be used deliberately to groom internal candidates and document processes so the city will be positioned to appoint a permanent manager with less disruption after the next election cycle. Commissioner Williams asked that AJ produce a written succession plan and related deliverables during the interval. The commission recorded the unanimous vote in favor of the motion and directed staff to return with the requested documentation.

Background: the finalists’ interviews focused on coastal management experience, fiscal stewardship for a largely built‑out beachfront community with an official population cited in the meeting as about 11,300 and annual tourist visits discussed by candidates as roughly 2,500,000, and on approaches to sustaining services that swell during peak visitor periods. Commissioners raised concerns about candidates who were not present for all public events or meet‑and‑greets and about potential public scrutiny of candidates’ past records.

Next steps: AJ agreed to prepare and present a documented succession plan and recommended internal development steps for the city manager function; the commission asked staff to schedule follow‑up reporting. The commission also preserved the option to reopen a recruitment if it later decides a different approach is needed.