The Fort Pierce city attorney’s office is facing a staffing shortage as City Attorney Sara Hedges prepares to leave the position, prompting the city commission to appoint an interim attorney while it searches for a permanent replacement.
Mayor Linda Hudson said the office will be left with minimal staffing after Hedges’ departure.
"With the departure of Ms. Hedges on Sept. 11, there will be only a paralegal left in the office. And so I think that for the protection of this city, we cannot have a vacant city attorney's office," she said.
The commission voted 3-2 in June not to renew Hedges’ contract. The board had previously decided to offer former County Attorney Daniel McIntyre the position of interim city attorney, but Human Resources Director Jared Sorensen said McIntyre reconsidered after learning about the staffing situation.
"He felt like the staff was going to be in place and he would just be coming in and providing leadership. So he really had some concerns about the staff not being there and only having a legal assistant in the office," he said.
City staff explored options for temporary legal help in an effort to address McIntyre’s concerns, but he ultimately did not take the position.
With Hedges’ departure approaching, officials turned to a another city employee as a potential short-term solution. Sorensen said Deputy City Manager Camille Wallace, who previously worked in the city attorney’s office, could step into the role until a permanent attorney is selected.
"Camille Wallace was hired, as Mr. Chess already talked about, in the city attorney's office. She worked there for about eight months. She could be named the interim city attorney for a period of time when Sarah's contracts end, which her contract ends on the end of day on Sept. 10, and to the time in which the search firm can bring somebody in and commission can approve them," he said.
Wallace's proposed appointment raised questions about whether she could remain independent while serving as interim city attorney. Hudson questioned whether Wallace could effectively separate the role from her work in the city manager’s office.
"Even in the interim, I would assume that she would be going back to the city manager's office. So I would question her ability to be independent, casting no aspersions on her wish to be independent," she said. "I just think that that would be a difficult thing to do."
Sorensen said Wallace would not simultaneously perform her city manager duties while serving as interim city attorney.
"Ms. Wallace would have to take a leave of absence and be named the city attorney, but going under the interim city attorney so that there is no conflict with the charter. She would have to take a leave of absence and then her contract would say basically at the end of that, if she's terminated or whatever, she would go back to the city manager's office," he said.
City Manager Richard Chess defended Wallace’s qualifications and said he believed she was capable of handling the position.
"If she wasn't qualified or well capable of doing that job, I'll be the first one to say, no, she shouldn't be an interim city attorney. So I want to be sure if just for the record, the competence is there, the professionalism is there, and the downgrade her ability to do the job. For whatever reason, I just don't think it's fair," he said.
The staffing problems also reignited disagreement over the commission’s decision not to renew Hedges’ contract.
Commissioner Michael Broderick called the situation avoidable and suggested the lack of a full legal department could benefit developers seeking agreements with the city.
"First off, I'm going to reiterate my point that this is a self-inflicted wound orchestrated by the city commission to put us in the position of having no legal department. And the outside influencers that have influence over the decisions made at this commission are certainly pleased with this prospect because from the development community, they are thrilled with the prospect of having no legal department available to the city of Fort Pierce when it comes to generating and producing developer agreements," he said.
Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky rejected the suggestion that the commission’s actions were driven by developers and pointed to the Causeway Cove decision.
"I did not hear one statement that a city attorney or an outside council had reviewed all the information in the Causeway Cove decision to move it on. If that's the case, then the idea that this commission is being held up by developers again is ridiculous," he said.
The commission ultimately voted 3-2 to appoint Wallace as interim city attorney.
During the same meeting, the city also approved a $31,000 contract with an outside search firm to find a permanent city attorney.