Melbourne Beach commission approves interim town manager contract, sets time-off terms

The Melbourne Beach Town Commission voted 5-0 to approve a draft employment agreement for the interim town manager and clarified how requested time off would be handled. Vice Mayor Don Carlo moved to accept the contract as written, with two October conferences treated as paid business and the week of Thanksgiving (Nov. 24–28) charged to the manager’s paid time off; the motion carried unanimously.

Town Attorney Ryan Knight, who presented the draft, said the agreement had been provided to "Miss Frazier" and that she had requested a few changes. "One of the changes was in section 2.d., the addition of that last sentence there," Knight said, describing a revision that clarifies the manager may continue to serve in a separate elected role with the Sebastian Inlet District "provided it does not conflict with employees' duties under this agreement." Knight also summarized other contract provisions, including a salary of $120,000.

The commission discussed how paid time off would be accrued and applied. Knight said the agreement references accrual of 3.08 hours per pay period. Commissioners debated whether conferences should be treated as paid business time and whether Thanksgiving week should be charged to PTO or allowed as unpaid leave; the commission approved the conferences as paid business and the Thanksgiving dates to be taken against PTO.

Commissioners also reviewed retirement contribution language in the contract. Meeting remarks said the town will make contributions to MissionSquare Retirement at approximately 14.63 percent (as described in the discussion) rather than place the interim manager in the Florida Retirement System, which participants noted would carry a higher employer cost. The commission did not change that provision during the meeting.

Other administrative clarifications agreed by the commission during the motion included that the employer would not automatically reimburse conference expenses unless separately approved and that staff should put the agreed terms in writing via email to the interim manager.

The commission asked staff to clarify operational points outside the contract text, including whether the manager’s outside commitments would create a conflict in emergency situations. Knight noted the contract’s Section 2 requires the employee to "devote full time and attention to the business of the town," and commissioners said emergency situations would be handled under that duty.

Before adjournment, the commission acknowledged departing staff member Elizabeth and offered thanks for her service.