By John Pacenti
Lynn Ladner, Ocean Ridge’s sometimes embattled town manager, resigned after commissioners gave her poor evaluations, particularly hammering her on budget and fiscal responsibility, as well as leadership.
Ladner, in her resignation letter dated Thursday, said her last day will be Monday, putting the town in a jam as to who will guide it during the upcoming months of hammering out the budget for the next fiscal year and setting the property tax rate. The commission meets at 6 p.m. Monday at Town Hall.
“Having accomplished many of the goals I set for this role, I feel it is the right time to step aside and allow new leadership to guide the town forward,” Ladner wrote in her April 3 letter.
“It has been a privilege to serve the residents and work alongside the dedicated staff and leadership of Ocean Ridge.”
A call and text to Mayor Geoff Pugh and Vice Mayor Steve Coz seeking comment were not returned. Pugh did not write comments on his evaluation of Ladner, but he gave her an “unsatisfactory” score for community relations and a “needs improvement” for leadership.
The Coastal Star obtained the commission evaluations of the town manager after a public records request. All were filled out in February and included evaluation score sheets for Ladner’s performance.
Commission’s budget concerns
Over the last six months, Ladner had been criticized by commissioners for her lack of organization, failing to provide pertinent information for meetings, and making critical errors when calculating the budget. She was a controversial hire, first serving as interim manager starting in August 2022, then rejected for the permanent position by one commission but hired by another after the March 2023 election.
“The last two budget sessions have been an exasperating struggle of missing information and incorrect numbers,” Coz wrote in his evaluation of Ladner. “Lynn has not embraced the fact that she is CEO of the town.”
The commission had to correct a mathematical mistake in the 2023-24 budget after the state called out the town for the error. It resulted in a $58,000 windfall — but commissioners said it could have gone the other way and affected projects in the town.
Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy said Ladner made the same mistake in an early version of the current fiscal year’s budget, using net values of property rather than gross values as the state requires, that would have overtaxed residents by more than $56,000. Ladner bristled at the criticism.
“I’m worried about the mistakes and the errors and the defensiveness,” Cassidy said at the Aug. 5 meeting. “So it’s just a great frustration.”
Ladner did not return a phone call or email seeking comment.
Low evaluation scores
The evaluations of Ladner scored her on a scale from 1 for unsatisfactory to 5 for outstanding on leadership, planning and organization, budget and fiscal responsibility, commissioner interaction, community relations, priorities, operations, staff development and compliance.
A perfect score would be 45. Pugh gave a score of 21, Coz 24, and Cassidy 19. Commissioners David Hutchins and Ainar Aijala Jr. gave her scores of 23 and 19, respectively.
Coz gave Ladner a low score of 1.5 for budget responsibility and a 2 for priorities. He gave her 2.5 or 3 for other categories — which is a satisfactory mark — and a 4 for exceeding expectations for compliance with regulatory standards.
Coz said in his evaluation of Ladner last year that a new manager should be given two years to meet the challenge of facing “headwinds of institutional knowledge.” “Unfortunately, in my opinion, this excellence has not occurred during this period,” he wrote in his recent evaluation.
Coz said Ladner failed to admonish staff when needed, thus “amplifying perceived grievances.” Ladner was a fierce defender of her staff and fought for equal compensation for administrative employees, clashing with commissioners.
Cassidy, though sometimes critical of Ladner, also worked closely with the town manager on issues of securing a lobbyist and on planning a kayak trail for land recently purchased behind Town Hall.
She gave her a score of 1 for budget and fiscal responsibility. Cassidy’s comments were extensive and detailed, praising Ladner for partnering up on finding a lobbyist but then saying, “However, when asked to obtain bids from lobbying firms, her efforts were minimal.”
Cassidy indicated she was still willing to work with Ladner, offering several suggestions for improvement, such as being more receptive to suggestions.
In conclusion, Cassidy wrote, “Please be more communicative about absences. Lynne is frequently not in the office. Health issues are understandable, but the absences seem to be excessive.”
Hutchins gave Ladner “needs improvement” scores of 2 in four categories. “Overall, her performance has been satisfactory, but occasionally she is less than prepared for the commission meetings,” he wrote, noting Ladner has failed to show up at Town Hall for work without explanation several times.
Aijala gave Ladner a score of 1 under the category of leadership and provided some of the most critical comments. “Lynn demonstrated a complete lack of understanding that she works for the commissioners and residents,” he wrote. “Her approach is combative and defensive rather than supportive and helpful.”
A rocky relationship
Ladner might have seen the writing on the wall, applying for the town manager position in Juno Beach in January, according to public documents. She used Pugh and Coz as references for the Juno Beach position.
Ladner has had similar positions in the small towns of Pahokee, Kenneth City in Pinellas County and in Michigan and Kansas.
Yet, her stay in Ocean Ridge has always been rocky. She was hired as a temporary town manager in August 2022.
Commissioners voted to make her position permanent in January 2023 but reversed themselves the next month over concerns that Ladner had acted at the urging of a minority of commissioners in asking departing Police Chief Richard Jones, who was resigning to take the same position in Gulf Stream, to leave quickly.
After an election the next month that put a new commissioner on the dais and shifted the commission’s balance of power, the majority gave her the job in April 2023.
Ladner, in her resignation letter, said she was proud of several accomplishments, including overseeing the implementation of new computer software, managing the bidding for the $2.9 million project to replace town water mains, and the $1.5 million purchase of land behind Town Hall for mangrove preservation.
Considering her last day is Monday, Ladner told commissioners in her resignation letter that she was “committed to ensuring a smooth seamless transition,” continuing to work on ongoing projects. It is unclear if Ladner is staying on in some capacity until her replacement is found.
“I leave this role with immense pride in what we have accomplished and with confidence in the Town’s bright future,” she concluded.
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