City wins Fernandez case

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

A Monroe County judge has sided with Key West City officials in a lawsuit brought by former Assistant City Manager David Fernandez.

Monroe County Circuit County Judge Mark Jones ruled that the city was within its legal rights to cancel the five-year employment agreement with Fernandez that was thrown out by City Attorney Shawn Smith in June 2014.

Fernandez had submitted his resignation that month after 28 years with the city, including stints as assistant city manager and utilities manager, to then-City Manager Bob Vitas. After receiving the resignation, Vitas drew up a new contract with Fernandez naming him Utilities Director, where he would have managed multiple municipal projects at an annual salary of $113,000 plus benefits for five years. Fernandez would also have been eligible to begin receiving his retirement pension payments on top of the contract deal.

But Smith threw out Fernandez’ contract at a June 30, 2014, special meeting of the City Commission, saying Vitas had not gotten legal department feedback on the contract as required by the city charter. Vitas also had not passed it by commissioners for their input, although then-City Commissioner Teri Johnston said at the time that Vitas, not the city commission, had the authority to make all hiring and firing decisions for city staff.

The controversial contract led to Vitas being fired by the commission at the same meeting, agreeing to pay him 18 months of severance in return for him leaving one year before his contract expired. However, voiding Fernandez’s contract didn’t even require a vote by the mayor and city commissioners, Smith told them at the special meeting.

“The law states if a contract is executed outside the authority of the individual signing it, it is void. There is no additional action that is necessary,” Smith told the commission at the June 2014. “It is my opinion as your city attorney that the city manager acted outside his authority in executing [the Fernandez] agreement. That agreement violated a number of provisions of state law. It also violated your city charter.”

Judge Jones agreed with Smith’s assessment, and reserved jurisdiction if the city applies to the court asking that Fernandez be ordered to reimburse its administrative and legal fees. Fernandez could also appeal the ruling.

City Manager Jim Scholl, who was hired to replace Vitas, said he was pleased with the ruling.

“It was pretty clear to all of us who worked here that any contract would go to legal [department]. We stuck to that when I was city manager the first go-round,” he said, referring to his first tenure as Key West City Manager before being brought back when Vitas was fired.

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