By John Pacenti
In the last year, Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore once again became embroiled in drama, clashed repeatedly with some commissioners and set out to bore elected officials to death by presentation.
Despite it all, Moore lives to fight another day. The commission at its Aug. 12 meeting approved a 3.3% raise for Moore, who has been with the city since August 2021.
The raise was based on the scoring of the city’s five elected leaders, with Moore receiving an average score of 3.3 out of a possible 5.0. Commissioner Juli Casale, a frequent sparring partner of Moore, was the one no vote for the raise.
Moore, whose new annual salary will be $255,986, can take a bow in getting the Cultural Arts School project off to a good start. And he still rocks the sunglasses at ribbon cuttings. But the city manager took some serious lumps in his evaluations by the mayor and commissioners.
“Moore’s deficiencies appear to be growing and his ability to make corrections is not evident,” Casale wrote. “His lack of high-level managerial skills is not likely to change. I would like to see Mr. Moore explore other employment. I think he would be happier and more effective in a less complicated city.”
Mayor’s criticisms
Mayor Tom Carney wrote a long evaluation of Moore beyond the typical scorecard, finding him approachable but lacking leadership skills.
“Overall, there is a lack of curiosity and forward-thinking in city leadership,” Carney wrote. “We are rarely ahead of challenges. More often, we are reacting or simply maintaining.”
After Carney asked for a granular budget for 2025-26, Moore unleashed a 400-page tome marshalled by his new chief financial officer, Henry M. Dachowitz, that was as clear as mud to the public. When The Coastal Star asked for a breakdown of the current budget compared to the proposed one in April, the newspaper was told that no such document existed at the time.
Commission meetings have dragged on as directors have spent hours detailing proposals that are available in the agenda packet for commissioners. Building, Planning and Zoning Director Anthea Gianniotes has spoken for hours on end.
“Stop burying the Commission with presentations,” Carney said on Moore’s scorecard. “Be more of a leader.”
And yet, Carney said, in the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, “departmental wish lists were submitted without senior management review, resulting in inflated spending proposals.”
Carney gave Moore a 2.8.
Casale’s concerns
Moore’s lowest score came from Casale, who gave him a 2.0.
She grew especially frustrated with Moore when it came to internal investigations into the Code Enforcement Division, which was rocked by one employee’s arrest for allegedly shaking down residents and revelations that a supervisor worked an inside straight to remove $11,250 in liens on a property the supervisor owned.
Casale couldn’t get answers at commission meetings — and sniffed out that the internal code investigation was a whitewash, forcing the investigator to go back and ask questions about the two employees.
Moore created the dynamics that led to a whistleblower complaint by Jeri Pryor, the woman he hired to right the ship of Code Enforcement. Pryor accused Moore and Vice Mayor Rob Long of ordering her to go easy on some businesses or face losing her job.
An internal investigator basically found it was a he-said-she-said, she-said-he-said.
Still, the investigator recommended that Moore stop his practice of conference calls with city employees and individual members of the commission.
It was the second such investigation involving Moore after the former fire chief, Keith Tomey, accused him of making an unwanted sexual advance. The same investigator found the claims unsubstantiated.
Tomey was fired and is suing the city.
Markert, Long and Burns
Commissioner Tom Markert — the Mr. Nice Guy on the dais — also had some criticism, handing Moore a score of 3.0. On what Moore could improve, Markert said, “Being accessible and open to feedback 24/7. And not only open to feedback but also able to professionally deal with occasional feedback that is not positive.”
Long is clearly a fan, giving Moore a perfect 5.0. In a not-so-veiled swipe at Pryor’s hiring, Long did say that Moore needs to “modify the screening/background check process when hiring director-level staff to avoid hiring individuals with questionable ethics and professional reputations.”
Commissioner Angela Burns, a former educator, gave Moore a 3.5 score. She did have positive things to say, though.
“Moore’s leadership skill and depth of knowledge have been instrumental in maintaining city operations and delivering key initiatives,” she wrote.
Moore’s management style was on display at the next commission meeting on Aug. 19, after 17 people spoke in favor of the city’s standing up to the edict by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to pave over the LGBTQ pride intersection at Northeast Second Avenue and Northeast First Street.
Saying $60 million in state funding was at stake, Moore seemed ready to sandblast away the rainbow himself, saying the city had no choice.
Even Long, his biggest supporter, said, “Mr. Moore, respectfully, I’m not going to focus my commentary on a conciliatory gesture at this point, given that there is still an option in front of us, an option offered to us by the FDOT to go to an administrative hearing.”
Comments