By Joe Capozzi
Jamie Titcomb has been hired as South Palm Beach’s new town manager under an unusual arrangement that will make him a part-time town employee.
Titcomb will start June 5, replacing retiring manager Robert Kellogg, who since 2019 has held the position as a full-time employee, as had previous town managers in recent memory.
“This is new and different. We’ve never done this before,’’ Town Attorney Glen Torcivia said April 28 before the Town Council unanimously hired Titcomb.
Titcomb, who was town manager in Loxahatchee Groves until he retired last year, wanted to serve as South Palm Beach’s town manager as an independent contractor so he can spend more time with family. Torcivia said he should work as a town employee.
As a compromise, Titcomb agreed to a two-year arrangement in which he will work as a town employee for at least 20 hours a week, but no more than 25 hours per week, at $82 per hour.
He will receive no health insurance or pension benefits and he will not receive any paid holidays. He can be terminated without cause and without severance pay.
His weekly work hours are capped at 25 to avoid triggering the town’s health insurance plan, which is automatically given to employees who work at least 26 hours a week, Torcivia said.
“I appreciate the attorney’s attempt to create a hybrid agreement that meets the needs of a fiduciary full-time town manager at the same time trying to constrain your total costs,’’ said Titcomb, who served as Ocean Ridge town manager from October 2015 to March 2019.
“Think of this as an a la carte menu rather than a full-course menu in order to get there.’’
If Titcomb works 20 hours a week, he’d get about $85,000 a year. If he works 25 hours a week, he’d get $106,000 a year.
Kellogg gets about $170,000 a year in salary ($110,250) and benefits, a total that equates to $82 an hour over a 40-hour work week.
Some Town Council members said they preferred to have the town manager at Town Hall five days a week, with Titcomb deciding how to divide his 25 hours over the full work week.
“I don’t care if you have me here for four days or five days. Most of you who know me long enough know I will be available as needed,’’ said Titcomb, who lives in Atlantis.
Torcivia said the arrangement “is a new concept. I’m hoping there won’t be bumps on the road. Don’t be surprised if there are a few little bumps, but I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of bumps.’’
Kellogg announced his retirement in November, a day after council member Ray McMillan made an unsuccessful motion to fire him. Kellogg wanted to retire at the end of March but has agreed to stay on until May 25.
“I want to thank Bob for all he has done. He will be missed,’’ Mayor Bonnie Fischer said. “Thank you, Jamie, for coming. We look forward to you being on board, a new chapter in government in South Palm Beach.’’
Kellogg’s departure triggered the resignation of the town’s financial consultant, Beatrice Good.
“I firmly believe that the foundation of every successful administration is based on the mutual respect and trust of its staff,’’ Good, who did not attend the April council meeting, wrote in a resignation letter to Kellogg in March after the council started negotiating with Titcomb.
“Unfortunately with your pending departure, it seems this will all be lost. Having previously experienced a long period of instability and chaos with the town, I choose not to do so again,’’ she wrote.
In other business, the Florida Department of Transportation has rejected a request by the Town Council to eliminate plans for a bicycle lane along a 1.7-mile stretch of South Ocean Boulevard north of South Palm Beach.
The council sent the letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis to support the town of Palm Beach, which thinks the bike lane would disrupt ingress and egress of condos along the road and would be counterproductive for bicyclists since there are no bike lanes at Sloan’s Curve just north of Ibis Way.
“The department is required to provide safe bicycle facilities where feasible when planning projects,’’ District Four DOT Secretary Gerry O’Reilly said in a letter to Fischer.
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