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Council urges quick closure but defers formal vote; city manager to decide
Summary
Council members urged closing city offices tomorrow to align with county and schools; the city manager cited emergency pay and staffing costs and asked about two hours of additional monitoring before issuing a decision; no formal motion was voted on at the meeting.
Council members pressed staff on whether Fort Myers should close city offices tomorrow as Tropical Storm Helene approaches, with some members urging an immediate decision to align with county and school closures and others urging a data-driven approach.
"I just think I think personally, we should close because we also have to consider employees that have children," a council member said, voicing concern about staff who would need to manage childcare if schools were closed.
City Manager Lonnie said closing city hall triggers emergency pay and staffing costs and asked council to weigh fiscal impacts and operational needs. "When we say we're when we close city hall, that's when it kicks in the emergency pay," he said, noting overtime and premium pay would apply to essential personnel who must remain on duty.
Council members debated whether two hours of additional monitoring would change the forecast; some argued the decision would be the same in two hours, while others said the track could shift. One member moved to close for tomorrow; the city manager responded that he would follow council direction but asked for about two hours to finalize a decision and communicate it to employees. No formal roll-call vote was taken during the meeting.
