Boca Raton council directs mayor to negotiate with deputy city attorney Joshua Kaler and appoints him acting city attorney

Mayor Singer and the Boca Raton City Council on Tuesday directed the mayor to enter into negotiations to draft an employment agreement with Deputy City Attorney Joshua Kaler and unanimously appointed him acting city attorney effective Nov. 1, pending completion of those negotiations.

The move followed a special meeting in which the council interviewed three finalists for the city attorney vacancy created by Diana Groupe Freezer's retirement at the end of October. Recruiter Jim Deneen told the council his firm received 20 resumes in the national search and delivered a short list of finalists; "we got 20, total resumes," he said during his introduction of the process.

Council members praised Kaler—who had been serving as the citys deputy city attorney and in recent weeks had performed many of the office's duties—for offering continuity and a quick transition into the top role. "He's had to do this job now for a couple of months," Councilmember Nacklis said, arguing that would allow the city to maintain momentum on pressing items.

Councilmember Thompson had proposed briefly reopening the application window after one finalist withdrew, saying the council might benefit from a fuller finalist pool: "I would suggest that we reopen the application process for a short period of time," he said during deliberations. Other council members weighed that option against timing concerns and the view that the existing pool produced viable finalists; after discussion the council chose to proceed with negotiations for Kaler.

At the meeting the council also designated the mayor to negotiate the agreement and asked him to consult available market data when negotiating severance and salary parameters. Recruiter Deneen told council members the search began with stakeholder meetings, advertising from Sept. 9 to Oct. 4 and a national outreach that produced the original candidate pool; he said the firm would assist if the council asked to reopen the search.

The councils actions were procedural: a motion to direct the mayor to draft and negotiate an employment agreement for the city attorney passed and councilmembers then voted to appoint Kaler as acting city attorney effective Nov. 1 until an agreement is executed. Kaler accepted the council's direction and said, "It is a great honor, and I accept it with that spirit." The council also directed the recruiter to notify the other applicants and extend the city's thanks for their participation.

Next steps: Mayor Singer was authorized to begin contract negotiations and report back to the council with proposed terms. The outgoing city attorney, Diana Groupe Freezer, remains scheduled to leave city employment Oct. 31, creating the vacancy Kaler will fill in an acting capacity starting Nov. 1.