Council authorizes mayor to negotiate with deputy city attorney to succeed retiring city attorney

Temple Terrace councilors on May 6 authorized the mayor to enter into negotiations with the deputy city attorney to assume the city attorney role when the incumbent retires, the mayor said. The motion passed with one councilor recorded voting against the authorization.

Mayor Andy Ross opened the discussion by noting the city attorney will retire in July and asked the council whether to empower him to negotiate with the deputy. Vice Mayor Schisler said he favored promoting from within while ensuring the deputy role is backfilled; several council members defended the in‑house model, citing easier access to counsel, faster proactive legal work, and savings compared with using an outside firm.

Council member Kravitz urged a transparent recruitment process and recommended an open search to ensure the city considers a broad applicant pool; Kravitz said the deputy should be allowed to compete but warned that an internal promotion without competition could be perceived as unfair. Other councilors replied that the in‑house system has produced benefits such as timely lien work and arbitration handling.

Motion and vote: A councilor moved to authorize the mayor to negotiate with the deputy city attorney to assume the city attorney role and to backfill the deputy position; the motion was seconded and carried with one recorded no vote.

The mayor noted there is no city residency requirement for the city attorney position (the charter requirement for residency applies to the city manager). Council directed staff to proceed with negotiations; council did not adopt a separate policy change on recruitment method.