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Sebastian council approves new special magistrate, orders review of code‑enforcement process
Summary
After months of discussion, the City Council voted to replace the long‑standing special magistrate agreement and directed staff to review code‑enforcement procedures; council also asked staff to identify funding to cover higher hourly rates for outside legal help.
The Sebastian City Council voted to terminate its longstanding arrangement with the current special magistrate and approve a one‑year, cancellable contract with a proposed new magistrate, Robin Hathaway.
City Attorney Jennifer Cockcroft told the council that the city’s existing contract for special magistrate services had been in place for 11 years and billed at $150 per hour. “We have an 11 year contract with the current magistrate. It's a year to year contract. It's a very low rate. It's a hundred and $50 an hour,” Cockcroft said. She also said the city received one outside proposal for a replacement magistrate, at an hourly rate of $400, which she described as comparable to current local government rates.
Council members said they were concerned the current…
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