City Manager George Brown to retire; council approves recruitment timeline

City Manager George Brown announced to the council April 8 that he intends to retire by the end of 2025 or in early 2026 and outlined a recruitment and transition schedule.

Brown said the city has engaged Mercer & Associates to manage the search. He said Mercer principal David Deutsch would interview council members and department heads in mid‑April, the recruitment brochure and advertising would be complete in May, and the application period would close in late May or early June. Brown told council the firm will present a candidate pool by the June 9 workshop; council would select three to five finalists to interview in July with interviews scheduled in late August. Council would seek to negotiate a contract in September and arrange a start date for the new manager shortly thereafter.

Council members thanked Brown for long service and asked that department‑head input be solicited confidentially and incorporated by the consultant. City Attorney counsel clarified that records created in the hiring process are generally public under Florida law and suggested using methods that minimize creating public records where confidentiality is desired.

Brown said he would remain engaged through the transition and is open to providing advisory support after his departure.

Next steps: Mercer & Associates will begin outreach and interviews; staff will provide timeline details to council and coordinate confidential input from department leadership.