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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 system was not producing timely compliance and asked staff to produce a full review of the city’s code‑enforcement process, including timelines, options to use a citizen code board, and whether additional funds should be budgeted for outside legal services. “I'm not comfortable personally that we are getting everything we need to do from a code enforcement perspective,” Council Member Ed Dodd said during debate. Several council members said they had observed code cases that took months to reach hearing and then produced little follow‑through.
The council’s motion to let the existing arrangement expire and proceed with a contract for Robin Hathaway passed on roll call (Council Member Kelly Dixon: yes; Council Member Ed Dodd: no; Council Member Chris Nunn: yes; Mayor Bob McPartland: yes; Vice Mayor Fred Jones: yes). Council members asked City Manager Brian Benton to return a white paper describing: how code cases are handled now; statutory limits; comparative advantages and disadvantages of a special magistrate versus a citizen code board; estimated staff time and outside counsel hours; and any recommended ordinance or procedural changes.
Finance and budget implications were discussed before the vote. Staff said the city has $30,000 budgeted for outside legal counsel this fiscal year and recommended including funding for the magistrate and related outside counsel in the next quarterly budget amendment. Benton told the council he would track actual hours and costs for possible reimbursement opportunities and for use in the budget amendment discussion.
The council directed staff to prepare the procedural review and cost estimates, with the option to terminate the new magistrate agreement if the review recommends a different path. The city attorney said she will bring forward termination or contracting documents as needed for council signature.
Why it matters: The decision changes the judiciary‑style review of code violations in Sebastian and begins a broader council review of enforcement practices, timelines and the financial impact of outside legal services.
What’s next: Staff will return with a written evaluation of the code‑enforcement process, statutory constraints, cost estimates for outside magistrate services, and a proposed funding plan to cover any additional outside legal expenses.
