Palmetto Bay council will meet Wednesday to discuss choosing new village manager

The Palmetto Bay council will convene for a special meeting on Wednesday to vote on whether or not to give Building Director Ed Silva the village manager’s job on a interim basis starting April 1.

The current village manager, Ron Williams, will see his contract expire on March 31 and has decided to retire instead of asking to renew.

“We’ve got three members of the council that have at least four years if not eight years before them, so it’s time for them to work out a new administration,” Williams said.

Williams, 64, a village resident, has been at Village Hall since 2003 – shortly after incorporation – when he came on as public works director. He has held the manager’s job since 2007.

The resolution to appoint Silva currently includes a stipulation that he can’t himself apply for the job on a permanent basis — something council member John DuBois, who sponsored the item, said he wanted to encourage as many people as possible to apply.

“It’s difficult for an existing city manager of another city to be interested in our job if they think there’s really a possibility that we’re not going to hire a new city manager. They’re not going to risk showing their hand to their current employers,” DuBois said.

The agenda also includes a discussion of the process by which a new village manager will be selected, and a temporary hiring freeze in the village.

The meeting will start at 6 p.m. and be held in council chambers at Village Hall, 9705 E. Hibiscus St., Palmetto Bay.

This story was originally published January 30, 2015 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Palmetto Bay council will meet Wednesday to discuss choosing new village manager."