Commissioners debate terminating city attorney Drew Whelan’s contract; vote called at meeting

At a city commission meeting, commissioners debated whether to terminate City Attorney Drew Whelan’s contract and called for a vote, while some members urged adjourning to develop a succession plan.

Chair (speaker 2) opened the procedural discussion by moving to adjourn at the outset, saying, “I’m gonna I’m gonna make a motion to adjourn the meeting.” Commissioner (speaker 1) also repeatedly urged adjourning to avoid taking immediate action without full clarity, saying the group should "slow down, get out of our feelings, out of our emotions, and think it through." The chair acknowledged those concerns but pressed for a decision on the city attorney matter.

Discussion turned to the city attorney’s contract and the question of whether terminating the contract would require the city to pay out the remaining term. One commissioner (speaker 5) raised compensation and outside-cost concerns, saying, “She was paying him a $180,000 plus a staff attorney plus $250 an hour when he does litigation.” Several members warned that the city could face significant contract liabilities if it ended the agreement immediately; the transcription records a reference to a contract running through “December 31.”

Commissioners also debated practical succession and records access. A staff member (speaker 4) emphasized document ownership, saying, “The city documents that he that he has that are city documents are city documents,” while other commissioners warned that losing the attorney’s institutional knowledge would complicate day-to-day operations and litigation response.

Some commissioners proposed a limited alternative to immediate termination: placing the city attorney on administrative leave while the commission investigates and hires conflict counsel to provide independent legal advice. One commissioner (speaker 5) moved to hire a conflict attorney for litigation and contract review during the discussion.

Chair announced a formal motion to discontinue or terminate the city attorney’s contract reported as "a motion from Miss Horace, by Commissioner Fuller." The chair then called for a vote, urging commissioners: “All in favor of terminating Mr. Drew Wheeling’s contract, the city attorney, please signal by raising your hand.” The provided transcript ends with the vote being called; the record does not include the roll call, tally or final outcome.

Next steps noted during the meeting included options to delay action (to January), issue a request for proposals for new counsel, or develop a succession plan. The meeting record supplied does not show whether the termination motion passed or whether any administrative leave or conflict-counsel contract was approved.