North Port governance workshop weighs limits on commissioner contact with staff, tests a limited pilot

North Port’s City Commission spent its Jan. 6 workshop wrestling with how to balance commissioners’ need for timely, unfiltered information and the charter’s non‑interference protections for city staff.

Consultant Doug Thomas, who led the session with Lynn Tipton of the Florida League of Cities, told the commission the charter and the administrative policy now labeled 6.8 have been reviewed by HR, in‑house counsel and outside counsel and were found to be “in concert.” He said the policy’s purpose is to protect the chain of command while still enabling elected officials to get information. “Your charter does not prevent you from getting information, but it does prescribe the manner in which you have to get that information,” Thomas said.

City Manager Jerome (identified in the workshop) reiterated that he did not change the policy when he took the job in 2021 and said HR and legal had verified its alignment with the charter. Jerome and staff warned that commissioners contacting line employees directly can put those employees in a difficult position and create the appearance of political pressure.

Several commissioners said their campaign pledges and constituent casework require faster or more direct access to subject‑matter experts. Commissioner Stokes described the problem as one of education and context, not bad faith: “If we’re not getting every perspective, we need to ask for more perspectives,” Stokes said, urging better one‑on‑one briefings and fuller staff reports so the commission receives multiple viewpoints, not only recommendations.

Thomas and Tipton proposed practical guardrails rather than a blanket ban: use regular one‑on‑one briefings and agenda briefings to get deeper context; allow commissioners to ask the manager to schedule targeted department briefings; hold public workshops for multi‑commissioner deep dives; and keep the manager CC’d on any commissioner‑initiated department contact so the manager remains in the loop.

Commissioners also pushed staff to improve written follow‑up on constituent inquiries. Several members described repeated constituent calls that went unresolved and requested that commissioners be copied on staff responses so they can answer follow‑up questions from residents without creating duplicate, ad‑hoc channels.

After discussion, several commissioners agreed to a limited pilot: allow targeted, documented contacts with department heads under conditions — regular use of one‑on‑one briefings and workshops, city manager CC’d on emails, and a clear expectation that department responses be recorded and, when appropriate, routed into existing constituent‑tracking systems. The pilot was described as a test with clear safeguards, not a permanent change.

Thomas and Tipton emphasized that the underlying goal is to preserve the charter’s protections and ICMA ethics guidance while giving elected officials reasonable access to information. Thomas noted that binding a manager to ICMA membership (and its code of ethics) can help protect managers professionally and create clear expectations about non‑interference. Tipton added that many Florida cities use comparable practices — including CCing managers and documenting contacts — to strike the same balance.

City Manager Jerome closed with a sharp critique of past public conduct by a commissioner that he said undermined staff morale and the commission’s effectiveness; he asked the body to move beyond those tensions. The commission agreed to continued staff follow‑up and consultant support and adjourned the workshop.

What’s next: the city manager and staff will work with the commission to implement the pilot and refine how constituent follow‑up is documented and shared with commissioners; any formal policy changes would return to the commission for consideration.