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Cape Canaveral council rejects late addition to city manager interview slate, approves posted agenda
Summary
After debate over fairness and added costs, the City Council voted to reject a late supplemental addition to the city manager interview slate and then approved the originally posted agenda, 3–2, while discussing potential next steps if no candidate emerges from the scheduled interviews.
The Cape Canaveral City Council on June 17 debated whether to add a candidate who submitted an application after the posted deadline to the upcoming city manager interview slate, then voted to proceed with the originally posted agenda.
Council Member Willis moved to approve a supplemental agenda that included the late applicant; the council discussed fairness to applicants who followed the submission deadline and the impact on the interview schedule and travel costs. Several council members said adding someone now would appear to move the goalposts and could impose extra travel and lodging expenses — one council member estimated roughly $30,000 in additional cost if more candidates needed to be flown in.
Interim City Manager (who also identified in the record as the city’s finance director) said staff submitted a supplemental item and confirmed the council has the prerogative to add candidates. Several council members, including Council Member Jackson and Council Member Davis, said they preferred to continue with the five finalists recommended by the recruiter and to reopen the search later if needed.
A motion to approve the supplemental agenda failed after a roll call; the council then approved the originally posted agenda by roll call vote, 3–2. The council directed staff to proceed with interviews scheduled for June 26–27 and noted that if no suitable hire is found from that group, the city could re-open recruitment or bring additional candidates later in a manner the council determines.
The council also discussed interview logistics and candidate travel in later reports: staff recommended booking hotels centrally to save sales tax and offered to reimburse candidates under the city’s per‑diem guidelines; council asked the recruiter to confirm travel needs and return details to staff the next day.
The council did not take any formal action to add the late candidate at the meeting; the interview schedule remains as posted.
