Fort Pierce delays city manager shortlist after applicant-tracking glitch; commissioners set follow-up meeting

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The Fort Pierce City Commission on Jan. 16 delayed selecting a shortlist of candidates for city manager after the human resources department discovered that 11 applications were not included in the packet provided to commissioners.

Human Resources Manager Jared Sorenson told the commission the omissions were uncovered after an applicant raised the issue and staff ran additional reports in the newly implemented Tyler Munis applicant-tracking module. “The first thing I want to make absolutely clear is that we have not reopened the position at all,” Sorenson said, adding that the missing records appear to be caused by a training/reporting anomaly rather than intentional removal.

The oversight expands a contentious discussion that began during public comment, when several residents questioned transparency in the city’s selection process and one speaker raised concerns about City Clerk Linda Cox’s public political posts. “When you have a responsibility and you’re the city clerk, you shouldn’t be advocating. You should be neutral,” resident Rick Reid said.

Sorenson said the city migrated from a platform called Civic HR to Tyler…