Longwood commission appoints Will Watts as city manager, 3-2 vote

The Longwood City Commission voted 3-2 on May 13 to appoint Will Watts as city manager and directed the city attorney and human resources staff to work with Watts on a proposed employment agreement for consideration at a future meeting.

Ken Parker, senior advisor coordinator for the Florida City County Management Association (FCMA) senior advisor program, told the commission that 82 applicants responded to the city's recruitment and that 28 or 29 met the advertised minimum qualifications. "The advertisement that you did ... resulted in you receiving a good candidate pool," Parker said, citing the screening the FCMA advisors conducted.

The FCMA team — Parker and senior advisor George Forbes, working independently and following Florida public meetings law — reviewed applicants against the city's brochure, charter requirements and the posted job description, Parker said. Parker also said the advisors performed only a paper review and did not conduct background checks or verify applicant information; he said those checks remain the city's responsibility.

During deliberations, the commission debated whether to elevate the internal candidate, Will Watts, directly to the position or to continue with the longer interview process for outside applicants. The city attorney advised the commission that Section 4.04 of the Longwood City Charter requires that candidates be screened by a committee — a step the attorney said has been satisfied by the committee's work — and reminded the commission that the formal appointment must be followed by negotiation and presentation of an employment contract for commission approval.

A motion to hire Will Watts as city manager carried on a 3-2 roll call: Mayor Sackett, Commissioner Boney and Commissioner Morgan voted yes; Deputy Mayor Shoemaker and Commissioner McMillan voted no. The commission instructed the city attorney and human resources to work with Watts on a proposed city manager agreement to be returned for approval at an upcoming commission meeting.

Parker described the next steps the commission typically follows for finalist interviews (if they were to proceed with multiple finalists), including multi-day visits with department heads, individual interviews with commissioners, public receptions and public interviews. Parker said the typical process requires budgeted expenses to bring finalists to the city for in-person evaluation.

Commissioners who opposed the immediate appointment said they wanted to fully vet other qualified applicants. Commissioners who supported appointing Watts cited his current work handling operations and resident issues, and his reports to the commission, as reasons they considered him qualified.

The commission will consider the proposed employment agreement and any related contract terms at a subsequent meeting; the exact meeting date for final contract approval was left to scheduling and agenda posting requirements.