Charter review committee recommends one-year residency period for newly hired city manager

The City of Palatka Charter Review Committee voted to recommend a residency requirement that would give a newly hired city manager up to one year to become a resident of Palatka.

Committee members spent more than an hour debating whether the charter should require elected officials and department heads to live inside city limits, how long newly hired managers should have to relocate, and the enforceability of residency rules. The discussion touched on past practice, contract negotiations that previously relaxed residency requirements, and examples from other Florida local governments.

A motion to require that a newly appointed city manager relocate to Palatka within one year passed after discussion and a second; committee members then voted to approve the motion unanimously. Members said the one-year window accommodates moving logistics and family needs while preserving the principle that top city administrators should live under the ordinances they help enforce.

Committee members also debated attendance and grounds for removal for elected officials. Several members argued for strict standards to ensure accountability — for example citing past practice where two consecutive unexcused absences could trigger removal — while others urged flexible, reasonable language for emergencies and allowed electronic participation in narrow circumstances. Counsel was asked to draft proposed removal and attendance-language options for future meetings so members could choose specific wording rather than leaving it informal.

The committee additionally recommended that Commissioner Henderson Davis be allowed to nominate a replacement to fill her now-vacant committee seat; the committee approved forwarding that recommendation to the commission.

Next steps: Counsel will prepare draft charter-language options regarding residency, grounds for removal, and attendance rules for the committee to review at a subsequent meeting.