A joke of a mayor with a long history of poor behavior in Florida is attacking the city manager he supported when he voted to hire him in October 2024. A California council is crying foul after their town manager filed a whistleblower report alleging unscrupulous behavior. More Flock camera news and car accidents involving police officers have cost two cities tens of millions of dollars each.

All that and more news after the job postings.

Job Board Postings

It is free to post all of your senior and executive level recruitments over at the AAME job board. If you would like to include them in this newsletter, select the $199 option.

City/County Manager Recruitments

Other

  • IL: Village of St. Joseph - Public Works Director (2/23/2026) | in-house

  • TX: Dumas - Finance Director (Until Filled) | Clear Career

  • TX: Bridgeport - Assistant Chief of Police (3/20/2026) | Clear Career

  • TX: Lufkin - City Engineer (3/30/2026) | Clear Career

  • TX: Marble Falls - Finance Director (Until Filled) | Clear Career

  • TX: Odessa - Chief Financial Officer (First Review 2/22/2026) | Clear Career

CA: Town Attacks Manager After Filing Whistleblower Claim

Woodside Town Manager Jason Ledbetter filed a whistleblower report/claim against members of his council and sought to enter into a severance agreement to part ways less than a year into his tenure. But town officials are trying to portray this as some sort of extortion or shakedown attempt for $400,000 to keep quiet.

You can read his letter where he accused members of the council of making racist and sexist remarks and instructing him to circumvent the state’s low income housing rules. He also alleges that one female council member discriminated against him because he is male.

FL: Pembroke Park mayor lashes out at town manager he once pushed to hire: ‘He’s a charlatan’

Pembroke Park Mayor Geoffrey Jacobs is once again embarrassing himself with his political theatrics as he attempts once more to skewer town manager David Lynch.

He’s a major league asshole with a history of being censured multiple times and acting like a fool on the dais. In the clip below he drops f-bombs and storms out of a meeting.

About a month or so ago, I shared a story about Lynch expressing concerns for his safety after receiving a threatening call from the mayor. Somebody dropped the dime on the mayor and accused him of living outside the city and he blamed the town manager. An attempt to remove him from office was halted by a judge a few weeks ago and I am unsure of the current status.

And on top of that — he apparently gifted a “make work” part-time job to his legislative assistant who appears to live over 600 miles away in Alabama.

Officer Involved Vehicle Accidents Cost Cities Millions

Remember Dolton, Illinois — the city that used to be led by “Super Mayor” Tiffany Henyard. They are on the hook for a $33.5 million judgment related to a police chase back in 2016. The new mayor is trying to find a way to pay that off without raising taxes.

Oh yeah — and Henyard who is a Democrat is trying to reinvent herself down in Atlanta as a Republican candidate for the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.

In Bakersfield, California, a cop drove 80 MPH through a stop sign without any lights or siren and now the city has to pay $22 million. The officer was arrested and sentenced to one day in jail for the accident that left one person dead and another with life altering injuries.

Legal expert Daniel Rodriguez said:

“It’s a record amount. The city has never paid that amount. What made this case different was the violation of safety protocols.”

News Around the Country

  • AL: After just over 11 years on the job, Talladega County Administrator Pat Lyle announced that she plans to retire at the end of April - successor appears lined up

  • AZ: Kristen Krey, Carefree town clerk and treasurer, promoted to top spot

  • CA: HR Director Eddie Manfro has assumed the City Manager’s position in Fullerton - served as interim since August and had previous stints as city manager elsewhere

  • FL: The City of St. Cloud has announced the appointment of Jabarie Walker as the city’s new Assistant City Manager

  • FL: Westlake Begins Negotiations With New Manager Pick Howard Brown

  • MN: City of Mora hires Clinton Township (Ohio) fiscal officer Deborah Steele to be their administrator

  • NC: Columbus County Manager Eddie Madden plans to retire when his contract ends Dec. 31

  • NY: Franklin County lawmakers talk creation of deputy county manager position (PAYWALL)

  • NY: Oneida votes to expand city manager’s public safety, fiscal authority

  • OH: Cincinnati city manager plans to dissolve development department in major reorganization

  • OH: Dayton residents call for more spending oversight, accountability for city manager

  • TX: Bartonville police chief steps down, but will step into role as town administrator

  • VA: Joe Casey, longtime Chesterfield County administrator, announces retirement

In Memoriam

  • NC: Former Carteret County Manager John Langdon died in Raleigh after an extended illness

Flock Cameras in the News

A growing list of communities are canceling or opting to not renew their contracts with Flock. Here is a round up of some stories on the issue:

  • CA: Mass surveillance fears push Mountain View to scrap automated license plate readers; article highlights mayor’s family’s history under the Ferdinand Marcos regime in the Philippines

  • CA: An audit of Flock Safety license plate readers found that the company inadvertently shared Ventura County's data with out-of-state law enforcement agencies, including federal agents, without department approval

  • IA: Coralville removes Flock cameras after AG’s Office sent a letter stating that their policy prohibiting the sharing of data for immigration enforcement actually violated Iowa law

  • WA: Lynnwood votes to end Flock license plate cameras after immigration enforcement concerns

  • WA: A bill establishing Washington’s first regulations on automated license plate readers cleared a key House committee, moving the state closer to setting privacy guardrails on surveillance technology that critics argued has been accessed by federal immigration authorities.

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