News

By Rich Pollack

    Highland Beach Town Manager Kathleen Weiser agreed last month to leave the position immediately in return for a severance package that includes 20 weeks of pay valued at close to $53,000.
    Commissioners, in a 4-1 vote, accepted the agreement, with Vice Mayor Ron Brown dissenting.
    “It’s a sad day when we see our town manager depart,” Brown said during the January meeting “When you look at her record, you have to say ‘Thank God we had her here for as long as we did.’”
    But other members of the commission, especially Commissioner Carl Feldman and Mayor Bernard Featherman, had been critical of Weiser, particularly in the handling of the recent renovation of Town Hall.
    Weiser, who had served as town manager since 2011, came under fire from some commissioners following a negative Palm Beach County Inspector General’s investigation into the funding of the Town Hall project.
    The report concluded the town didn’t follow its own charter when it approved funding for a close to $1 million renovation of the Town Hall without bringing the issue to voters.
    Following the inspector general’s report, Feldman called for the resignation of Weiser and of Town Attorney Glen Torcivia but did not have support from others on the commission.
    Both Torcivia and Weiser have said that the oversight was the result of an honest mistake made by the town clerk’s office during the researching of records related to the issue.
    Torcivia said his office had repeatedly asked for records from the town clerk’s office to be sure the spending cap could be increased by ordinance and had received nothing to indicate otherwise.
    In June, prior to the release of the inspector general’s report, the Town Commission had voted unanimously to renew Weiser’s contract and give her a 3 percent increase to her base salary.
    Support for Weiser evaporated, however, when a split on the Town Commission shifted following the December death of Dennis Sheridan, who had frequently voted with Ron Brown and Commissioner Lou Stern on funding and purchasing issues, which often left Feldman and Featherman in the minority.
    The announcement of Weiser’s agreement to step down came soon after commissioners appointed resident Rhoda Zelniker to the seat left vacant by Sheridan’s death. Zelniker, who had run against Sheridan unsuccessfully last year, will serve in the position until the March 10 municipal election.
    Weiser, who is pursuing different job opportunities, says political shifts can be one of the occupation hazards threatening the longevity of town managers.
    “In June, I received an exceptional evaluation and 5-0 vote to renew my contract,” she said. “But in January, after the change in the commission, I accepted the separation agreement because it was clear that the new commission and I had differences that were not reconcilable — it was better to part ways.”
    Zelniker and the other commissioners agreed to appoint Town Clerk Beverly Brown as interim town manager and plan to discuss a search for a new town manager following the March 10 municipal election.
    Commissioners later agreed to increase Beverly Brown’s salary from $91,780 to $115,000 plus a $600 a month car stipend while she serves as interim town manager. Deputy Town Clerk Valerie Oakes will serve as interim town clerk.
    In 2011, Highland Beach’s previous town manager, Dale Sugerman, was suspended and his contract was not renewed after commissioners learned he planned to put Beverly Brown on a one-month unpaid suspension for forwarding racist e-mails on the town’s computer system.