Longwood commission appoints William Watts as city manager after divided vote; debate over hiring process continues

The Longwood City Commission voted 3–2 on May 29 to appoint William Watts as city manager and to approve an employment agreement, concluding a contentious portion of the meeting in which several commissioners said the public selection process had been abbreviated.

The contract and appointment were brought forward after a special meeting earlier in the week. The proposed employment agreement follows the form of the previous city manager contract with adjustments for salary, benefits and certain insurance requirements; the city attorney told the commission the proposed agreement met legal review and allowed the prior interim contract to terminate once the new agreement became effective.

Commissioner Matthew McMillan said he opposed finalizing the appointment without public interviews of the finalist candidates. “The public was denied the opportunity to watch multiple candidates answer the same question,” McMillan said in his commissioner’s report, adding he planned to vote against the contract. McMillan said the commission had previously adopted a public process and that cutting that short deprived the public and commissioners of full consideration.

Several other commissioners defended the appointment process and expressed support for Watts. Commissioner Matt Morgan and Commissioner Tony Boney said they had reviewed candidates and supported Watts’s selection based on their experience working with him during his acting term. “He’s coming back to me right away with these answers more times than not on major, major issues,” Morgan said, describing Watts’s responsiveness and leadership during emergencies.

Watts spoke briefly to the commission before the vote. He said he had reviewed comparable salaries, proposed a 14% increase over his acting salary and had worked with HR and the attorney on contract language. He said he selected a midpoint vacation accrual consistent with tenured city employees and that he had provided proof of personal auto insurance to address an added insurance requirement in the contract.

The motion to appoint and approve the employment agreement was made during the meeting; the roll-call vote was: Commissioner Matthew McMillan — No; Commissioner Matt Morgan — Yes; Mayor Brian Sackett — Yes; Deputy Mayor Abby Shoemaker — No; Commissioner Tony Boney — Yes. The motion therefore passed 3–2. Mayor Sackett and others said they would continue to work together as a commission despite the split vote.

Commissioners discussed several contract details on the record at the meeting, including vacation accrual, a requirement that the manager maintain personal auto insurance for personal use of a city vehicle, and severance provisions retained from the prior contract. Deputy Mayor Shoemaker asked the manager to consider quarterly time off; Commissioner Shoemaker moved to amend the contract to increase annual vacation to 20 days (160 hours), but the motion was not completed on the record as a formal amendment to the agreement.

The appointment makes William Watts the permanent city manager effective May 20, 2025, per the motion language adopted at the meeting; the employment agreement will govern the terms of his service going forward.

— Reporting based on the May 29, 2025 Longwood City Commission meeting transcript.