Code enforcement director also heeds request to leave
By Larry Barszewski
Less than a week after Delray Beach city commissioners raised the city’s tax rate at their Sept. 22 meeting — a meeting that included testy exchanges on the commission and between the mayor and the city’s chief financial officer — the CFO and the city agreed to part ways.
“He was forced to resign,” Commissioner Juli Casale said when asked by The Coastal Star, adding it was her understanding that some of CFO Henry Dachowitz’s comments had ruffled feathers. “He made comments about the police union, the fire union, then he had disagreements with the mayor.”
Casale, who plans to run for mayor in March, described his departure as a “loss for our city and a reflection of a failure in leadership.”
Dachowitz wasn’t the only city official to leave. In a separate move, Neighborhood and Community Services Director Jeri Pryor, who oversaw city code enforcement, also agreed to part ways with the city.
“She was also forced to resign,” Casale said.
Neither had been with the city very long. Dachowitz was hired in October 2024 and Pryor in January 2025.
At the final budget hearing, Mayor Tom Carney was adamant about lowering the city’s tax rate or keeping any increase to a minimum. He was the only commission member to oppose the final tax rate, which was slightly more than a 3% increase over the previous year.
Responding to a question from the commission, Dachowitz explained why it was difficult to make more significant budget cuts when police and fire — which make up more than half the city’s operating budget — are considered untouchable. He said reducing the city’s biggest expense — employee salaries and benefits — requires dealing with union rules that leave long-time, higher-earning employees in place at the expense of younger workers who may show more initiative and be more technologically savvy.
It was during that explanation that Carney interrupted several times and led Dachowitz to say, “If you’re not going to let me answer, why should I sit here?” When his boss, City Manager Terrence Moore, tried to get Dachowitz to stop, he kept on going.
When contacted by The Coastal Star, Dachowitz said his decision to resign came in a meeting with Moore.
“I was told that people were upset with me and the city wanted to separate, so I resigned,” Dachowitz said. “It was only because people complained about the remarks that were made.”
Moore deferred The Coastal Star’s request for comment to city spokesperson Gina Carter, who said the city “does not provide statements on personnel matters.”
Carney told The Coastal Star he found Dachowitz to be a “capable guy,” though he thought the CFO “was rendering opinions kind of outside his lanes” that night.
Carney said he had nothing to do with the request that Dachowitz leave.
Dachowitz’s comments were noticed.
Craig Mahoney, president of the local firefighters’ union, fired off an email to him the day after the commission meeting.
“I understand and appreciate the frustration with the City’s financial situation. But your attack on Police and Fire, and the disparaging way our employees were characterized, was unnecessary and out of line,” Mahoney wrote in correspondence obtained by The Coastal Star through a public records request to the city.
Dachowitz wrote in an email to Mahoney that it wasn’t his intent to “offend or insult” the city’s public safety employees.
He concluded his response by saying “under stressful times with challenges to our revenues, all areas must be scrutinized. Ultimately it is up to the Commission to decide on trade-offs and determine how we fund the various departments and services with reduced revenues.”
Leaving with benefits
Both Dachowitz and Pryor signed releases that awarded each a lump sum payment equal to three months’ salary — in addition to all unused vacation time and half their sick time — three months of additional healthcare coverage, and the city allowing them to collect unemployment compensation. The city agreed to note both resigned their employment “in good standing.”
Dachowitz was earning $198,744 at the time of his Sept. 28 resignation and Pryor $140,546 when she resigned Sept. 24.
Pryor last year filed a complaint accusing Moore and former Vice Mayor Rob Long of telling her to “stand down” on code enforcement of a pair of downtown businesses within months of her arrival. Pryor said the two had “threatened her employment,” but an independent investigator hired by the city found the claims to be “unsubstantiated” in a report obtained by The Coastal Star in July 2025.
In her resignation letter, Pryor said while she appreciated the “professional growth, experiences, and opportunities” her job allowed, “after careful consideration, I have concluded that it is time for me to move forward to an environment that more closely aligns with my professional values and personal well-being.”
When contacted by The Coastal Star, she said she had no further comment. “It’s in my letter as to why I resigned,” she said.
In an Oct. 30 memo to commissioners, Moore announced he was splitting Pryor’s department in two — creating the Department of Neighborhood, Community and Education Services, and the Department of Code Compliance — “to improve accountability, performance, and operational efficiency.”
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