CLEWISTON, Fla. — This week, Clewiston's city council fired its city manager.
We went to the city’s Mayor to ask about the decision.
James Pittman, Clewiston’s Mayor, said a commissioner motioned to terminate the city manager, Randy Martin, because they felt too many projects were slipping through the cracks.
Pittman said the board voted 3-2 in favor of the motion.
“We’ve had a lot of changes over the years, and a lot of them have been attributed to Randy doing a great job. But, it just got to the point to where maybe some things got pushed down the road a little too far,” Pittman explained.
Pittman says the city is bringing in an interim manager, Danny Williams, while they look for a new city manager. Pittman emphasized the decision to fire Martin ended amicably, with the board keeping Martin on for 30 days to train the interim manager.
Williams has been the city’s operations director for 10 years, and says Pittman will be a great fit for the role, saying, “He’s someone that gets around, he knows people, he interacts and gets things done. He’s constantly on the phone making calls and is just someone that knows this city very well.”
Since Clewiston is a rural city that requires grant funding for projects, Pittman says they’re looking for someone who knows that process well.
“Also, we have all of our own utilities - water, sewer, and electric - so someone that’s familiar with the utility end of it because that’s a big part of our sustainability,” said Pittman.
Pittman said finding a new city manager could take up to 8 months.
