By John Pacenti
Delray Beach Vice Mayor Rob Long proposed a charter amendment that would restore a four-vote supermajority requirement for removing the city manager, potentially returning to a governance model the city abandoned years ago.
Long argued at the City Commission’s Oct. 14 meeting that the current three-vote simple majority standard has led to organizational instability and a “revolving door” for the city manager. He suggested putting the issue decision directly to voters in the March 2026 election.
“Delray Beach ran best when removing a charter officer took a consensus, not a faction,” Long told his colleagues.
He incorrectly noted that neighboring cities like Boynton Beach already use a supermajority standard. A charter review committee in Boynton Beach has recommended requiring a supermajority when hiring or firing the city manager or city attorney, but no decision has been made on whether to put a charter amendment proposing such a change on that city’s March 10 election ballot.
Long emphasized his proposed amendment would not shield current staff from accountability but would force a broader consensus before city leadership would be destabilized. The final decision would ultimately rest with Delray Beach voters.
The proposed charter amendment is expected to be reviewed in upcoming commission meetings, with potential placement on the March 2026 ballot.
The commission reached a consensus to direct staff to draft the amendment language, with Mayor Tom Carney and other commissioners expressing support for exploring the change. The proposal would require four votes instead of three to remove top city officials hired by the commission.
However, Commissioner Juli Casale brought the issue back up at the commission’s Oct. 21 meeting, saying Carney and Long misrepresented that other cities in Palm Beach County have a supermajority requirement.
Both Long and Carney interrupted Casale repeatedly as she tried to address the issue, noting City Manager Terrence Moore’s recent uneven evaluation and the reason that voters got rid of the supermajority in August 2014.
At that time, City Manager Louie Chapman Jr. was found by the Palm Beach County Inspector General to have misled the commission about a $60,000 trash bin purchase made without the commission’s consent.
Chapman was suspended for 90 days, but the commission could not fire Chapman under the supermajority rule because two commissioners stood by the embattled city manager. Delray Beach taxpayers ended up having to pay Chapman nearly $70,000 in a buyout settlement.
Carney did say that at the previous meeting, some statements were made “without a lot of basis in fact.” He said the issue will be put on the Nov. 4 agenda for discussion. “We will have a very lively conversation,” he said.
Casale, after the meeting, said she didn’t know why the commission is trying to address an issue decided by voters 11 years ago. “Especially now, when our current city manager is so challenged. Residents shouldn’t be stuck with a failing city manager,” she said.
City manager changes
Here is a look at what’s happened with city managers hired in Delray Beach since voters in 2014 approved a charter amendment lowering the number of commissioners needed to fire a city manager from four to three.
Don Cooper: Started on Jan. 1, 2015; resigned for family reasons on Dec. 30, 2016.
Mark Lauzier: Started on Nov. 6, 2017; fired on 5-0 vote on March 1, 2019.
George Gretsas: Started on Jan. 6, 2020; fired on 3-2 vote on Nov. 20, 2020.
Terrence Moore (current city manager): Started on Aug. 2, 2021.
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