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Council declines final payment to strategic-plan consultant after managers and staff raise quality concerns
Summary
Juno Beach council voted down a motion to make final payment to consultant Jim Caris and to adopt his strategic plan after the town manager and staff said the draft lacked implementable objectives, engagement records and clear priorities; council instead asked the town manager to return with options to finish or replace the plan.
The Juno Beach Town Council on Sept. 16 voted against making a final payment to the consultant who delivered the town's draft strategic plan, after the town manager and staff described the report as incomplete and not ready for adoption.
Mayor Wheeler and several council members said the plan, which the consultant provided in April, still lacks prioritized, measurable objectives and public-engagement documentation. Town Manager Rob Cole told the council the version circulated earlier included blank pages and placeholder screenshots and that staff had not received evidence of public-engagement summaries or clear task completion. "There is no way that I could advance that version of the report for anyone's review and consideration," Cole said during the council's discussion.
Councilmember Diana (speaker 5), who moved to approve final payment and adopt the plan, argued the consultant had completed much of the contracted outreach and that portions of the plan were already being used in budget planning. She asked that the council either pay the balance or recontract for completion and suggested council-led workshops to finalize objectives.
After extended debate on the outstanding contract items (identified by council as tasks labeled 4a, 5 and 6), the council called a roll call. The motion to make final payment and adopt the plan failed on a 1-4 vote: only Vice Mayor Pro Tem Davis voted in favor.
Instead, the council approved a separate motion directing the town manager to return with options for how to proceed with a strategic plan, including whether the town should complete the work internally or contract for additional consultant services, timeline estimates and any needed budget adjustments. The manager was asked to include a clear scope and recommended next steps.
What happens next: The town manager will present options to council at a future meeting. Councilmembers said they plan to extract usable "gold nuggets" from the consultant's work while ensuring staff and council agree on priorities before further payments are made.
