Weekly comments from Dale Martin – Charter Officers

By Dale Martin
City Manager
Fernandina Beach
September 18, 2020

City Manager Dale Martin

In last week’s article, I offered information related to the City’s “legislative branch,” the City Commission. With seven candidates contending for three seats on the City Commission, residents should be familiar with the roles and relationships of City government officials. To learn more about the candidates, please review archived candidate forums previously conducted or plan to view future forums.

The City Commission’s primary responsibility is to establish policies for city government. The implementation of those policies, however, is entrusted to the City’s Charter Officers: the City Manager, the City Attorney, and the City Clerk. The three personnel report directly to the City Commission as described in the City Charter and similar language appears in the City Charter for each officer: “The City Commission shall appoint a city [manager, attorney, clerk] who shall serve under the direction and supervision of the City Commission and shall hold office at the pleasure of the City Commission.”

Ms. Caroline Best serves as the City Clerk. She has attained the highest credentials available in the State of Florida during her service to the City. Ms. Best has previously served the City in other capacities in the City Attorney’s office and the Building Department. She directly supervises a staff of three subordinates.
Although Ms. Best is highly recognized for her efforts in researching and preparing the many proclamations read at City Commission meetings, her proscribed duties are substantially wider. The City Clerk is the official record keeper of the City. Ms. Best and her staff are responsible for managing public records requests, for which the City receives an average of over two such requests per day.

Ms. Best works with candidates for the City Commission, advising the candidates on the details, intricacies, and pitfalls of state campaign regulations. Her department also manages the dozens of appointments to the various City boards and commissions, tracking expiration dates and sharing applications for vacancies with the City Commission. Ms. Best is an exceptional asset to city government and this community.

Ms. Tammi Bach serves as the City Attorney. She has served in this capacity for over ten years. She, like Ms. Best, has obtained key certifications that attest to her knowledge and experience: she is a board certified local government attorney. Ms. Bach is a native Floridian and earned her law degree from Stetson University.

Ms. Bach, operating out of the Peck Center, not City Hall, manages a small staff of one assistant. Obviously, she handles all legal affairs for the City and, as indicated in the City Charter, serves as the legal advisor for the City Commission. All agreements and contracts are reviewed by the City Attorney. She attends the meetings of nearly every board and commission, meaning that she is often at City Hall two or three evenings every week to provide legal support to the volunteer board members.

The City Attorney prepares and reviews all ordinances for consideration by the City Commission. To be enacted (or amended or repealed), an ordinance requires two “readings” by the City Commission. The First Reading introduces the proposed language to the City Commission (and community) and allows for preliminary discussion. The Second Reading, which due to public notice requirements is often at least one month after the First Reading, requires a formal public hearing at the City Commission meeting before the City Commission further considers enactment.

In addition to her formal duties as a City Charter officer, Ms. Bach serves on several executive boards of professional and nonprofit agencies. Like Ms. Best, Ms. Bach is a key asset to city government and the community.

Obviously, I serve as the final Charter Officer as the City Manager. It is often misunderstood that I, like Ms. Bach and Ms. Best, am appointed to my position, not elected. Furthermore, and unlike many other local governments, none of the Fernandina Beach Charter Officers operates under the terms of a contract: as previously indicated, we all “hold office at the pleasure of the City Commission.”

If a City employee does not fall under the direct supervision of the City Clerk or the City Attorney, then that City employee falls under my supervision, albeit in most cases, indirectly due to other intervening senior staff. As is the case again with Ms. Best and Ms. Bach, I have secured the highest accreditation offered by my professional organization, the International City/County Managers Association (ICMA), achieving that honor in 2008. I have served as the manager of several communities, ranging in the size and complexity of a small, 800 resident village to the large significantly more complex 12,000 resident Fernandina Beach.

My direct relationship with the City Commission, with who I typically meet individually on a weekly basis and often talk with even more frequently, is to implement the policies as directed by the City Commission (at least by three of them). That effort to professionally, not politically, serve the City Commission is paramount to good governance. In some instances and for a variety of reasons, I may disagree with the direction of the City Commission, but discussions related to those directions are conducted privately: publicly, I will always support and serve the interests of the City Commission.

Many people find it odd that I continue to truly enjoy my job. It continues to be a pleasure to serve this community. The variety and depth of resident knowledge, experience, and interest reflect the passion and devotion that defines Fernandina Beach, making this community a wonderful place to live and work.