Stuart City Manager Dave Ross resigns after just 7 months

STUART — City Manager Dave Ross stepped down Friday, following calls by the City Commission for his resignation or termination.

Ross was accused by commissioners of poor leadership and taking undocumented time off. They also accused Ross — who held the job for just seven months — of causing several longtime city employees to quit.

It's unclear whether Ross will receive severance compensation.

Ross could not be reached for comment Monday.

According to his contract, Ross was to receive no severance pay or other compensation if he resigned.

However, if he were fired without cause — a possibility the commission seemed to be seriously considering — Ross would have received 20 weeks salary, or about $68,000, as severance pay.

Mayor Kelli Glass Leighton on Monday said the city had not offered Ross money to resign.

"At the end of the day, he was doing what he thought was best," Glass Leighton said.

However, a text message from Ross to Interim City Manager Louis Boglioli seemed to indicate Ross was still in negotiations with the city.

The text message, sent Sunday morning, said: "Please ask (City Attorney Michael Mortell) to draft a separation agreement that provides four months pay and not having to repay moving expenses."

Boglioli did not respond to Ross' text message, public records show.

More: Stuart city manager placed on administrative leave, future employment in jeopardy

More: Stuart commissioners call on City Manager Dave Ross to resign

At a special meeting last week, the commission voted to put Ross on paid administrative leave until May 14, when the commission would continue discussing his future.

Commissioner Becky Bruner, however, voted against the measure, saying she believed Ross should be fired immediately and expressing doubt he would give up $68,000.

"Mr. Ross is not going to resign. If he resigns, he loses his severance pay and would have to pay back the $10,000 we gave him to move here," Bruner said. "I myself want his termination. We would be paying $500 a day between now and the 14th."

In his resignation letter, delivered to City Hall Friday night, Ross praised Stuart as a "wonderful community with fantastic people and great employees."

"It is out of a commitment to professionalism and a desire of mine for the commission to have everything smooth, that I offer you my resignation," Ross wrote. "My wife, son and I loved our time here."

Following Ross' resignation Friday, the city called a special commission meeting Wednesday to discuss accepting his resignation and appointing an interim city manager, Glass Leighton said.