City Council - Special Meeting

We're going to call this meeting to order. City council special meeting Friday, November 21st, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. Roll call. Kaylee. Council member Richardson here. Council member Darmms here. Council member Knight here. Council member Tamson here. Vice Mayor Grim here. Council member Stafford here. Mayor Marks here. I'd also like to state for the record that I had PTO scheduled today, that I notified the council on November 3rd, that I was taking PTO today to accompany my elderly mother to have a full hyerectomy and that I was also sick. That's out of order. I'm sorry.

Excuse me. That's out of order. She's supposed to ask permission for the chair to speak. She did not. She spoke out. Thank you. Pledge allegiance, please. How American to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And tyrants out. My goodness. Embarrassing.

Mayor Marks, may I speak? May I speak? Embarrassing. Uh, not not yet. Just hold on. We're going to have our time.

Okay. Item number one, discuss performance of the city clerk. First, I'd like to do an opening statement. The order of business tonight is to review the performance of the city clerk. Anyone with shoutouts or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated and will be ejected. We will remain we will rem maintain order of this meeting. This will serve as a pre-warning. If you would like to make a public comment, please fill out one of the slips and please turn it over to the city clerk. You will get three minutes to express your comment. Please address the council with all your comments. And just a reminder, council, if I would like to request if you need to speak, and you already know this, but just address the chair first. U we're going to go into a certain order of the agenda, but I'm just going to start with an opening statement. But during my opening statement, I asked the council to refrain from comments and questions until we reach the council deliberation, and then we will all discuss everything together. The purpose of this special meeting is one purpose only. Anything else will not be entertained tonight. Through the clerk's actions and email communications with the council, she has demonstrated contempt for this government body and has undermined the authority of this council itself. This cannot be tolerated. As a council, our position is to make policy that we have outlined and to support the administrative actions of the council. The clerk has demonstrated insubordinate behavior on many instances during the many email exchanges that I have provided a copy for the council tonight. She has undermined the council for reasonable requests for her contract, her PTO hours, etc. This has put the council in an uncomfortable position and has violated public trust. Communications must be civil and orderly. Our communications are filled with several allegations and harassing a

council member. Lastly, please reference on your handout tonight that I provided that I provided I obtained a copy of the email exchange between our city clerk and Senator Wright's office. If you can if you can look at that a meeting was request a meeting request was sent by our clerk to the senator Tom Wright's office. This meeting was regarding our 2024 legislative appropriations request for our police, our fire, and our public works buildings. It was brought to my attention that AR city clerk never replied to the senator's office for the meeting request because she did not fulfill her duty to check her emails. This may have cost the city approximately $3 million and not be able to build our our uh facilities. In conclusion, the city clerk is an appointed officer appointed by the city council. Therefore, as her bosses, we have the authority to make those requests and should not be defied or challenged. The actions of the city clerk require employee discipline measures immediately and that is why I called a special meeting tonight. The council cannot run our city efficiently with harassment and constant attack and allegations because order because we are questioning the clerk on her performance. I suggest we terminate for these stated reasons and for her improper and unprofessional communication with the council. I [snorts] would like to advise the council that this concludes my opening statement and at this time I need to have a motion to terminate our city clerk's contract [snorts] as previously stated. [clears throat] So I'll be looking to the council for action. [snorts]

Madame Mayor, may I? Yeah. Thank you. [snorts] Based on the totality of everything that we've been provided and it's on been on social media and emails and everything of the like, I make a motion to terminate the city clerk's contract effective immediately based on the following. Lack of confidence and trust. There's no reasonable prospect of reconciliation. [snorts]

inappropriate behavior towards the council and attempting to undermine the council. Push back andor difficulty presented when direction given making rules policies not following direction from council demonstrated insubordinate behavior and disseminating private text messages which have created public chaos, rumor and defamation which is not a desirable characteristic of a position of a public official. We have a motion. Do we have a second? [snorts] motion dies for lack of a second.

I just [applause] [cheering] [applause] Sorry. You need a second. You go right to citizens comments. No, that's not true. We need a second. Did you tell him that we don't need a second? Right. We can go straight to uh what I recommend, Madame Mayor, is that we give the clerk a chance to go to the podium and before the second. I thought you said after we get a motion in a second. I don't think we had a second. So, well, he thought he just said you told him that he didn't need one. That's why I'm redressing this order.

Do we have a Do we have a second to that motion? I'll make it a second. Okay. So, now we have a second. So now what I recommend is that So now I recommend that we give um Miss Burlson the opportunity to go to the podium and give her That's what I intended to do. Thank you. Miss Berles, you can approach the uh podium and you have 10 minutes to speak your mind.

[clears throat] First, I would like to state that I'm unsure of what text messages you are speaking of. Are you able to provide proof? Are you able to provide proof of those text messages that you have to direct that at the council and not at one person? Well, I have somebody making a motion to terminate me based on So, are is the council able to provide proof of the text messages that I distributed? Okay. Yes. Are they It's all over social media. Um, from my understanding, those aren't text messages. Those are Facebook messages. Okay. Do you want to uh I'd like to discuss it when we have our discussion. Okay. continue with your

So, I would also like to state for the record that the city clerk does not have access to any of the city council members social media accounts. I have no access to those records. Records according to statute are to stay in the department that they that is responsible for keeping those records and I have to physically ask for them. So, I have no access to those records. And if I'm not mistaken, I believe the individual that dropped off those records at my office on November 12th in the afternoon is present.

Okay, just so you're aware, I would also like to state for the record that you still had a meeting with Tom Wright. I was also on vacation that week um with literally a return response going to my emails talking about if you have you know important information to reach out to the city clerk email for immediate assistance that I was away with limited access to my email and phone. Um, I would also like to state that you came in my office after legislative action days and told me how you took your intern to um, Tallahassee and how you dressed her up because she had big boobs and had her show off her cleavage to Tom Wright because he likes that kind of stuff. And I have two witnesses that were in my office when you said it. Would anybody else like to ask me any questions or address any situations? I would also like to ask why uh I mean we're in November. Why are you addressing this in November?

The council is not going to address you at this time. You're to state what you would like to state and you have 10 minutes. And I need the clock started please. It started.

Okay. Thank you. I would like to state that this is retaliatory in nature that I had scheduled PTO off that I notified this council on November 3rd, 2025 that I was taking PTO in order to accompany my 62-year-old mother to have a full hyerectomy. Um, I would also like to state for the record that I was sick with a stomach bug yesterday and notified council yesterday morning and that I received a text message and an email from Kelly Marks at 4:07 p.m. calling for a special meeting which required me to get out of my bed and come to the office and post all the public notices as required. I was also required to find somebody else to take my mother to surgery today. My mother is still in recovery by the way. Um, I think it is absolutely vile that I had to choose between defending my character and my job and being there for my own mother who lives in my home. I am her caretaker. It is absolutely vile that I had to choose between that. You have multiple days that you could have sp picked a special meeting. You picked this day just because you did not want me to be in attendance. [applause] Can we also talk about how Woodard and Curran, one of our contractors that's actually working on one of our vendors that's actually working on the new facilities plan, um how they actually have um lobbyists that help assist us in setting up meetings with all senators and House representatives and they did so and emailed that schedule to you and to me. Um, I understand that Tom Wright was not on it, but um I also understand that you have the good buddy system with Tom Wright since he's on your board of directors. I would also like to respond to the email in which I sent out regarding food. Um, I would like to state for the

record that at the first meeting in October, um, the council requested that I provide them olive garden because council expects to be fed prior to 6:00 p.m. if they have a meeting. Um, and I was cornered at the Orange City Elementary School um, ribbon cutting ceremony and I was requested to purchase Olive Garden for 10 people in which I followed the directions and did so. Um, that meal was served at 5:00 p.m. and around I don't know 600 6:15 a couple members of the public came to me and asked me if they were allowed to eat the food. And historically, we have always allowed the public to share in a meal that is, you know, in a public meeting. Um, so I advised them that they could, and you pulled me to the side, and you asked if the public was allowed to eat the food. I would also like to mention that at the time it was two black women that were up there making their plate. One of them that you were speaking about in those racist Facebook messages. Both of them were members of the public. Both of them are taxpayers. and I told you that I thought they were entitled to share the meal as we paid for it with their tax money. Um, in which I later on sent an email out asking for suggestions if you know if this was going to be a problem moving forward because historically this is how Orange City has always handled the meals. Um, in which I got a response back from you. I made suggestions on the survey as far as sharing with the public. Where does it state that rule that we have to share our meal with the public? My concern is I don't want to eat from a buffet with a ton of people touching the food I'm eating. It's not sanitary. What about individual meals for the council pre-order and takeout orders? I find somebody that has a nonprofit runs a

nonprofit in this community that is so focused on ending hunger in her local community and she's not willing to share a meal with the public. What if that was the only meal those individuals ate that day? [cheering] [applause]

I would like to also state that I brought up concerns because this council has raised Avalorum taxes. It's raised solid waste taxes. It's also raised um storm water taxes. And I brought that to your attention just, you know, I was trying to encourage how the public would feel having a catered dinner in a public meeting and telling them that they were not allowed to partake in it. Um, so I encouraged you to take a different look at that um, in which you respond, "This is not a catered dinner. This is supposed to be meals for the council and staff who will be there a long time and do not have time in order to eat in between meetings and regular workday. I don't think it was appropriate for you to state that since food is purchased with public funds, we must share our meal. Be careful making up rules that are not in place unless you have facts to back it up. I would also like to state that there's no rule stating that I have to feed counsel when you have a meeting prior to 6 p.m. in which I responded and offered to bring UA policy at your December 9th meeting so that staff has clear guidance moving forward

the amount of hostile

it's not I was going to announce when we got to 3 minutes it's 3 minutes and 21 seconds. Okay. Um, there's been growing apprehensions among staff. I know there's numerous staff members that have previously resigned or recently resigned that are in the audience um that were terrified to actually speak their mind during their exit interviews and why they actually left. You actually came into my office and told our public information officer, in front of my executive assistant, and in front of my deputy city clerk that you and the rest of the council thought she was completely incompetent at her job, in which she has since resigned. Um, you also came into the office and demanded that the deputy clerk have to attend every single city council meeting in which I explain to you how the deputy clerk and the city clerk split up meetings to where we can have ample time at home with our families as well. Um because we handle more boards than just the s just the city council. I handle all boards all boards of the city which is around 10 just so you're aware. Um and I expressed the desire for a work life home life balance for my employee in which you literally laughed and basically told her haha too bad get a different job. I would also like to state that I've had an employee come to my office um in which they have she was actually crying. She was actually crying and I asked her I was like why why are you crying and she's like I just feel so uncomfortable when she comes in the building and I said well does she say anything to you like is she mean she you know whatever and she said no she just looks at us like she smells [ __ ] I also had another employee come to me that was scared um because she thinks that you were targeting her over the sign code in the land development code when that was adopted when she was a baby. Um and she unfortunately feels

like she's fearful for her job due to the changes that you want that you won't bring up at council under new business like you properly should. And instead you are treating employees and making them feel intimidated by you like they are supposed to change the code for you automatically and unfortunately that's not the way it works. I've also had your mortgage company call my office numerous times. You've also made numerous racist comments in my office talking about how um NAACP lunches and dinners make you uncomfortable. You also called me after presenting a proclamation at the Junth event and told me that she went up to Dr. Primrose Cameron and her daughter and told her that this wasn't a very unity in the community event, that there weren't a lot of white people.

I digress. 30 second warning. I digress. I'm done. Thank you. [applause and cheering]

[cheering] [applause] [applause]

Okay, we're going to move on to public comment. Oh, yeah. I will remind everybody that it is the person that's speaking only and if you speak out or disrupt the meeting, you will be ejected. First, I'm going to read into the into the record. You want to go first, uh, Mr. Waters, and read in the email. Uh, are you ready or you want me to come back to you? I can come back if you're not.

I'm I'm ready to go, Madam Mayor. Uh so uh madame mayor, council members, we have an email um that was requested to be read into the record from K liger uh burr 37gmail.com. Um good evening. I know it's getting late and I'm hopefully my comment will be provided at tonight's meeting. I'm unable to attend. However, I am an Orange City resident of 13 years. I've known Kaylee Bur Burlson for 18 years. She is one of the closest friends we have. We babysit each other's children. She has helped me in all stages of life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. She's been there tonight. A meeting will be conducted where it will be decided on Kayle's performance. While she is sick and helping her mom during surgery, I recall when Kaylee first got employed with the city. It was during winter break and I watched her kids while she worked. She was so excited to be back in the workforce and appeared to be thoroughly enjoyed her job. During the course of the last few years, I have yet to hear her complain until today. Nonetheless, this isn't just about Kaylee and me as friends. This is on a separate level. As a social worker, I read the emails where the mayor of Orange City attacked Mo almost disgusted to eat a meal with the public, where our public funds are being spent on meals for council members, but our mayor of Orange City stated and frankly what other municipalities does not concern us when it comes to food for our meetings, but it does concern us as the public. This is where my, yours, and our community money is going. I can assure you as someone who works in social work dealing with public funding. And as a supervisor, I, my boss, and higherups would never use public funds to buy lunch for our employees. I hope everyone takes in consideration tonight before casting your votes. Madame Mayor, we also have a handout. Um, I don't know if you'd like me to read that into the record or just enter that into the record.

You can. That's fine. I would also like to state for the record that there are 234 people watching the live stream currently. Order. That's the second time. That's the second time. Okay. Madam, people watching can't hear. I need you to I would like the sergeant-at-arms to remove the clerk, please. That's the second time. Madame Mayor. Madame Mayor. Madame Mayor. Madame Mayor, I would have to object to that council member. Not yet. Go ahead, Paul. Um, Madame Mayor, I I highly recommend that we give a warning before we remove anyone. I already did up there, but Okay, I'll I'll give her one more warning. That's fine.

Thank you. Okay. Uh, would you like me to proceed with the Yes.

with the handout? Thank you. Um, this is dated November 21st. to whom it may concern. I am writing to offer my full support for Kaylee Bur Burlson in regard to the disciplinary concerns raised against her. I have worked with Kaylee as a peer for several years. And in that time, I've observed her to be consistent consistently professional, reliable, and deeply committed to maintaining and facilitating the functions of the city clerk's office. During her years in her role as city clerk, she has demonstrated exceptional performance and unwavering transparency. To my knowledge, there have been no substantial complaints regarding her conduct or her work. On the contrary, she has played a key role in establishing more efficient protocols and maintaining compliance with state and local regulations. Her dedication to follow procedures with persistent accuracy and integrity has benefited Orange City as a whole. It is concerning to hear that since the installment of Mayor Kaylee Marx, Kaye has been subjected to heightened scrutiny and comments implying she is unqualified or makes inappropriate use of earned leave. These characterizations do not align with the colleague I have known and worked alongside for years. She's always demonstrated sound judgment, professionalism, and a genuine comment for her responsibilities. I'm also deeply concerned about the broader impact Mayor Mark's actions will have on our work culture. Our city has long operated on a foundation of mutual respect and teamwork values that Kaylee consistently exemplifies, case in point, her current defense of herself and general staff regarding Mayor Mark's actions and remarks. This is a fine example of her of how Kaye has been strong, supportive, present, who fosters trust across many departments. In contrast, the mayor has established a pattern of disrupting the supportive culture city staff is cultivated through her callous words and actions. This shift not only disrupts staff's ability to serve our community, but also threatens the positive

cooperative environment we have worked hard to maintain with our offices. Last paragraph. I respect respectfully urge the city council to give full consideration to the above concerns and Kayle's long-standing record of excellence when examining the complaints expressed by the current mayor. Kaylee is an asset to the city city and I fully support her both as a colleague and a professional. I also appreciate her willingness to speak up for herself and her fellow staff members. Sincerely, Renee Deon, Planner One, City of Orange City. Madame Mayor, those are the only two comments that are not on public comment forms. Thank you.

All right, we're going to go into public comment at this time. Maria Boby.

Hello council. Hello everybody. My name is Maria Boby. Please state your name and address. Thanks. My name is Maria Bob. I worked had the honor um to work with Kaylee Berles as a business tax leaison and min and administrative assistant for years 21, 22, 23, and half of 24. It has been a pleasure to work with Kaylee. I am here baffled because I've seen this girl work so hard, so hard to keep our city going. Fixing things that were messed up by the prior city clerk. Never saying no. I have told her before, you have to learn how to say no. Working while her kids when you were speaking. [clears throat] Sorry.

Sure.

Sure. We'll do. Working. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. working while her kids were sick. I mean, the girl has gone out of her way helping Dale at the time, who was the city manager. Um, when Danielle left, who was, you know, um, uh, I forget her title, but thank you. Um, she was the one who was doing all the dinners. She was the one assisting with pretty much helping with reading in the park with the, you know, the the city. She has done so much and to bring her here to see her performance based on what I've seen a couple emails online things that probably should have been addressed in private with counsel in her. I just think it's absolutely ridiculous. I think that this basically has almost no merit and I have seen all the emails and I have seen the pub Facebook and I have seen the messages that you have mentioned online and at the end of the day if there's a public record request done and somebody takes those and they decide to distribute who are we cannot stop them that is part of the law. So to put her here and basically say this is all your fault. She can't stop from giving out the public record requests. That's not something that she can do. So anyways, I came on a very I came out of work, ran here. I didn't write anything down. I just basically wanted to say she's a great employee. She has come out her way. While I worked there, she came out for you, Kelly. She defended you multiple times. There were things that were done that by mistake that she has fixed for you and as well as uh she was there with Mayor Blair at the time who was the mayor. She had assisted him on everything and she assisted on I know half the council. The other half wasn't

here. But um I just think she's great and to lose her is is to lose a big asset in this in this city. And that's it. Thank you. [applause]

[applause] Narita Williamson.

My name is narrator H. Williamson and I live at 811 Gunnison Drive. And I know M. Mayor, you said that you wanted this to be based on Kelly only, but I just wanted to briefly explain to you why I did mines the way I did it. Is because I've been put in a position before where I was working in a hostile environment and it's not good for the staff and it's not good for the council as well. So, that's why I had to lay layer a little bit differently. Okay. My first point is that the RN city mayor should not interfere with the day-to-day operations. Excuse me. This so this meeting is only about the city clerk. It's not about the mayor. Okay. And that and that is

sorry. Second time out. Thank you. [applause and cheering] Okay, Mr. Waters. Isn't it Isn't that the violating first amendment rights? Excuse me. Please don't please don't get that is your last time too. Mr. Waters, I wanted to ask you um with the special meeting, the rules of the special meeting. Can you

public comment should be limited to the the subject of the special meeting, but if there's any nexus whatsoever to the topic, then it should be allowed. So this is good. Yes, that's fair. Okay, I'm sorry. Go ahead. It's okay. Okay.

The first thing I wanted to say is that the Orange City Ma mayor should not interfere with the day-to-day operations of the city government. That's number one. Number two, the city council should know the difference between day-to-day operations and policy directions to avoid conflicts or misuse of powers. Number three, my perception is Orange City employees should not feel intimidated, bullied or threatened by elected officials. This creates a hostile environment where work productivity declines and employees absences increases due to stress and anxiety in the workplace. Number four, the interimm city manager should be directing staff on their job duties and responsibilities to maintain decency and order. And my last point I wanted to make is every council member should be respectful and always maintain a level of professionalism. Council members must follow budget regulations and tribal policies to avoid misuse of funds. The citizens of Orange City elected each council member based on qualifications, trust, and integrity. It is imperative that every council member follows the sunshine laws to avoid corruption, favoritism, and ensure transparency. Thank you for your time.

Thank you, [applause]

Lindsay Dobbins. Good evening. My name is Lindsay Dobbins. Um, I am a resident of Orange City. Um, and also someone who's been blessed to have Kaylee as one of my bestest friends for the longest of times. Can you just state your address? You need your name. Thanks. 910 Springbank Avenue, Orange City. Thanks.

What we've been called to do here tonight is not only wrong, but it's completely inappropriate. Trying to blast someone and potentially take away their job because they voice concerns over wrongdoings and behavior towards the people of this community is just not okay. As a community, we have to stop settling and start wanting better. How can we want or expect our children to be the future, to be kind, to make a difference if the leaders in our community and are are more worried about showing up and not being a role model? At the end of the day, wrong is wrong and there has to be accountability. Stop passing blame and take that accountability. You will receive a lot more respect from that. We expect our children to get along, to work things out, to communicate, and to show grace. Yet, I'm seeing so many adults and leaders, not just the one we're discussing tonight, a lot more than that, act out so nasty. And they're not ashamed of it because you can see it all over social media. They call people out. They call businesses out. And what are we and who are we to expect out of our kids if this is what we're showing them? This is the type of behavior all because someone didn't agree with what they had to say. It's an opinion. We still have to get along. We don't have to like each other. We don't have to like what we all say or that's why we're all different. If not, the world would be quite a boring place if we all thought the same way, you know, but at the same time, there has to be respect. And if you give respect, you receive respect. Let me just say this. Light will always outshine darkness. And it doesn't hurt anything to eat a big slice of humble pie once in a while. Selfishness and egos don't look good on anyone. I've been praying all day for tonight's

meeting and I truly hope that this is beginning a beginning of a positive change. Kaylee, you have always been an amazing, kind, loving, and genuine giving person. You have been there for me and so many others at the drop of a dime, even if you had your own things to deal with. It didn't stop you from extending a hand. I have a nine-year-old son who has special needs and is medically complex. He has had 16 surgeries in nine years and has overcome more than anyone I know. But he was missing a voice, a voice that needed to be louder than mine. to raise awareness of the disease that he's been fighting since before he's even been born. In previous years, Kaye and the mayor at the time, Mayor Blair

time, sorry, Madame Mayor, Madame Mayor, uh, I'm not understanding quite. Could you elaborate more on what you were just saying? Thank you so much. Excuse me. I'm the chair and I just said time. Said, "Madame Mayor, I know, but I'm the one that's running the meeting, so you can't tell her. You can't tell her she could have more time. I'm sorry. It's It's part of policy. Reach policy is part of policy. A council member can ask for her to elaborate. Mr. Waters, I promise it's worth being heard. I really do. The rules of the Roberts rules of orders allow any member to request um the request, but it doesn't have to be honored, right? Because we have

Oh, are you talking about the council? I'm just saying. Excuse me. Are you talking about the council? Yes. I think she can make a motion to allow more time if she would like under the roof and then vote on it. And if there's a second then and then we do we do a Okay. Okay. I got it. You want to do that? Madame Mayor, I would like to make a motion to extend um at least a few more minutes to hear what she has to say. I second. Okay, we have a motion. We have a second. All in favor say I. I. Thank you so much. I'm sorry. Thank you. Let's do this again, council. All in favor say I. I.

Okay. Go ahead.

Kaylee gave my son Caleb a voice to be an advocate for us and so many other little ones fighting big battles. Kaylee helped bring the community together. And I say together, not divided. To raise awareness for not only hydrophilis but pediatric cancer. She helped make the month of September in Orange City awareness month. She brought countless meals and spent more time with us, helping us and being a lending hand in all the surgeries and everything we've endured and almost losing him. Anytime there's a need, you can bet Kaylee will be the first one there to lend a helping hand, a kind word, or just listen and encourage. She has always and will always take her job as city clerk very seriously because she will always value support and care for the people of our community. So tonight, Kaylee, it's our turn to give back to you, to show you what you mean to us, and to support all the amazing things you do as our city clerk. We have your back and always will. Just know this, and I'm fixing to end. When you try to silence one voice for the wrong reason, you will find an entire community standing up to voice theirs for what's right. [applause and cheering]

[applause] Lori Scottton.

Good evening. Li Scottton, 836 Aana Drive, Orange City. You know, I'm really disappointed to spend my Friday night here, but I am proud of all these citizens that came out to support Kaye. I'm very proud to be a member of this community. [applause] I can't believe you have the audacity to call for an emergency city meeting right now in reference to the city clerk and you're being very vindictive and you not acting professional at all. How dare you? Kelly has never been anything besides courteous, respectful, and professional. Anytime I've dealt with her, you knew. You all knew that she requested PTO today to help her mother have surgery, and she herself has the stomach flu. You did this on purpose, out of spite.

All of this because somebody got their feelings hurt, and you didn't get what you wanted, and you want to punish Kaye for standing up to you. This is unacceptable. Do not call for her termination. You've done nothing but bully city employees since you took office. The title of mayor has obviously gone to your head and you are power tripping. We all see that. Great leadership motivates people. It inspires them.

Bad leadership isolates people and it creates a toxic work environment, which appears to be what's going on here in the city. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for these dedicated folks to show up to work every day knowing it's going to be hostile. That is horrible leadership. They may be afraid of retaliation from you, but know this, I am not. Amen.

So, due to your treatment of the city employees, what is perceived as your abuse of power and the disgraceful racist comments you made, I ask that you resign immediately. and you let [cheering] this city heal from all the damage you have done. [applause] Thank you. Thank you. [cheering] [applause] Gary Knight.

Evening council. Gary Knight, 1555 North Silverstone Court, Orange City, Florida. Members of the council, Mayor Marx, I've been one of your staunchest supporters. Back when you were running for office, I spent hours and days on the street with signs and talking and getting ideas. But it comes to my dismay, okay, in the last five or six months with the way this council has been run. To me, there seems to be a lot of um talking between council members that's not doing council meetings, which is disturbing to me. Okay. It it there's a law against it. Okay. Back a while ago, one year ago on November the 20th. Okay. The women's the Valuchia County women's club, which you were a president of at that time and then someone else took it over. Um they posted something and I'm going to read it because to me back then that it was good. It was a proud moment for the VIA Orange City Women's Club and one of our history books last right as we welcomed our new city council members which included three of our club members, Lisa Stafford, Kellyanne Mox, and Dana Knight. day and night is my wife by the way. So sometimes things happen, but unfortunately what what I've seen here

in the last six or seven months from listening conversations that maybe I shouldn't overheard, but the way that you spoke to another council member, which happened to be my wife, and things like that, I I heard things I don't think were really appropriate for me to hear. But when I hear things that Kelly Marx told me that it was time to clean house in Orange City

when she first took over the mayor's office, but to me, okay, what you're doing, okay, and I'm saying trying to say this as a friend, I wanted to reach out to you earlier before tonight's meeting to ask you why are you wielding so much power, but you don't give any empathy? Wheeling power without empathy. That's not leading. You're you're taking the entire council down a bad path. And you got council members that are are fighting between each other and talking between each other. And it's like there's three here and there's three there and there's one there. So when they have a vote tonight, you know, maybe you should resign. I'm sorry, but maybe you should resign. [cheering] [applause] Sharon Stafford.

She's coming. I'm so sorry. [laughter]

Good afternoon. Sharon Stanford, 461 Clock Street, Ern City, Florida. Before I start speaking, I want to let you all know about the first amendment, United States Declaration of Human Rights, which states we have a right to express oneself without government interference. So what I'm about to say, I want you to remember the first amendment. I have the right to express myself without government interference. As I stand before you, I must say all the years I've been in this little old city of Ern City, these last 18 months have been pure hell. And I don't I'm not the one to say profanity language, but it has been pure and especially the last six months. This is ridiculous for us to stand here or sit here with this nonsense. I know Kaylee ever since she has taken you know I I know um when Gloria was there fine when all the other city councils I've been here everything's been work fine. Kelly has been over and above doing the things for the community and I'm really proud of that. I can call her anytime and she'll direct me in the path I need to go. I would recommend to Kelly Kaye that we can reconsider this process. And also, I'm on I'm on my first amendment right. I receive an email that I'm

totally totally disgusted with. My name is listed in this me email. My name is listed in this email. This email was behazed with this email and I've been in this city so long that I' I've saw I've seen a lot and I just want to say that we need to get it together. Like I told you all last week, we got young people. They're watching and they're listening. They're watching and they're listening. And I brought it to you all before about the um sunshine law. This email shows it was violated.

This email shows it was violated. The October 14th me that came up, it shows it was violated. What you all want to know? Listen to it. I listened to it several times before I made that comment. Thank you. Thank you, [applause]

Rebecca Balis. Good evening, council members and mayor. Rebecca Baleros for the record. Orange City, Florida. As a former employee of the city of Orange City who served at the as the deputy city clerk, I feel very compelled to speak in opposition of this agenda item. I want to begin by sharing a bit of history about how the clerk's office about the clerk's office and how we arrived to this point tonight. In 2022, the former city clerk resigned, leaving the council in urgent need of a replacement. The city invested a significant amount of money into a recruitment process only for the council to ultimately promote from within, appointing Kaye Berles, then the deputy clerk, to city clerk in January of 2023. I was promoted to deputy city clerk in May of 2023 during Mayor Blair's term. During that time, the clerk's office ran smoothly and efficiently because we shared the same goals. Operating with transparency, serving our community with integrity, and maintaining an office that functioned effectively for both staff and residents. But before my resignation, I experienced and witnessed several issues that made it increasingly difficult to stay silent. There were repeated violations of the Florida Sunshine Law, deep divisions within council, and most troubling, racism behind the scenes. Along with these issues came persistent bullying,

harassment, and unreal unreasonable demands that created a toxic work envir excuse me, guys.

Rebecca, I love you. And many employees felt uncomfortable, stressed, and unhappy. Yet also they felt that they had no voice. And I want to be clear, I am a former employee. And [snorts] because I made because I was made to feel unwanted and uncomfortable in office by the newly elected mayor, [snorts] that experience is not something I say lightly. Tonight is not about Kaylee. The agenda item is in retaliation from Kelly because Kaylee had the courage to speak up and call out the very issues that have gone ignored far too long. Without the city clerk who consistently works beyond 40 hours a week, including [snorts] the weekends and even while on PTO, the office simply cannot run effectively. Kaylee has been that backbone. I hope that by sharing this statement you can clearly see who the real issue is and recognize the important the impact the the impact these integrity of the city government. I will close by that I will close with this just a reminder residents there is an upcoming election next year and four of these seats will be vacant. [applause] Mark Dickinson. Hey there. Greetings uh Ty Mayor and Council. Just wanted to say thank you for taking the opportunity to listen to this. I used to blame Kaylee uh for the issues with the public records request and dive down her every moment, but I realized and if and if there's law enforcement in here, uh I'm I'm sorry for saying this, but it was your administration that was doing it. Kaylee

has done nothing but help go to the police department and try to convince them to release records. She's probably the best clerk, if not the second best, because we had one in in New Simra Beach that was at that time the best clerk, and they fired her because she did her job right. One of the things that uh every time I come in here, she greets myself and her staff uh greets myself with just pleasurable business. Very nice, very great. And I get the records. I have to pay for them sometimes, which is fine. However, one of the things that I did is I did a records request today and council and I I hope the police chief can maybe launch a criminal investigation on some of this stuff, but council I'm trying to figure out why there was liquor bought by the mayor at a what was it at? It was at a conference and it was done with a pecard.

So, that's one one thing that I would like to know. And the other thing is there was a $75 charge for valet parking. So if anybody is doing anything wrong in this agency from what I've seen is that there is records that can be out there. Now I spoke to Sharon this afternoon on the phone and I told her about what was listed in these emails that I would I did of public records and that's the nexus is because I get public records from this agency. One of the things that you said to me today when I messaged you happy birthday and you said I can't discuss city business. The mayor said she could not discuss city business. But it's funny the sunshine law violations that I saw in these messages between them. And these are only the tip of the iceberg that you find because there's no messages on the on the on the city phones. They're likely all done on the private phones. So with that said, as I was mentioning, buying alcohol council, do you know if that was reimbursed or anything like that?

Mayor's nodding her head yes. Was there taxes paid on that alcohol that was reimbured? Because it was done with a taxexempt card. Council, that's one of the things that I think that should be investigated if this police chief with his last few months here can handle something like that. I don't know. But it needs to be looked into, get some subpoenas, and force the release of the records on these phones because as Sharon said today, she's not going to stop doing what she's doing based off of these racists. Uh what was the words? They were ghetto ghetto

and hanging a hanging a hanging a pair of shoes which typically is in lowincome areas like what you would be on a telephone wire. So, mayor, what I have to do you is get the [ __ ] out of Orange City, resign and [cheering] go, [applause]

Don McHugh. [applause] Amen. Amazing. Good morning.

Good evening, Mayor, council. [clears throat] Um, I I put a lot of sweat and tears into this city and I've spent a long time working as a city manager here. I've gone through some terrible councils. I've worked through multiple councils over that time. Some got along, some didn't. But the one thing that I always said was the staff are the ambassadors of this city. And right now, I've had more conversations with city staff in the past three months than I had when I worked here. And these people are coming to me because they're deathly afraid because of things like this. The city is in turmoil right now. And I'm going to tell you, it's not just the mayor. It's everybody. Nobody's sticking up for anything. They're getting talked down at these council meetings. I've heard the rumors. I'm not here to talk about those rumors. You're about to potentially terminate the city clerk. There's no deputy clerk. You're about to go out for a recruitment for a new city manager

for [clears throat] money. Well, they've already been told that there was probably not you worth spending the money, but that's a different issue. But what all that's doing is that's you see staff out here. What are they here for? Because they know what's going on in this city. You folks are not taking control and you need to start taking control. You need to stop tribal warfare. And that's what I'm seeing. When you've got city staff, 60% or 70% of your senior senior leadership has left. Has left. The institutional knowledge is gone. That's when I first got here. This city was referred to by the Orlando Sentinel as the mad dog 2020 version of city government. After that and going through a number of councils and getting some good people on board, Mr. Blair and a bunch of other ones, this city became to run smooth and it's been running real smooth. Dale Arrington [clears throat] was the city manager. I understand she left early. She was going to retire after the first of the year and she left early. These things are really bad. They reflect poorly on the council and you all need to start doing your jobs properly as individual council members forming your own opinions and I don't see that. Had a snap call for a charter review commission out of nowhere. Nobody was informed in the public about it. The city council set themselves up as the arbiters. Thankfully y'all didn't do anything. Okay. because I have a feeling that we're going to be a a push for a strong mayor. That's what the rumors were. That's why I came that night. I would have argued against that vehematly. The city has been running good up until about the past year. And who is that? Who is that on?

Not your staff. It's on you as a group. Thank you very much. Thank you, [applause] [applause] Meredith Radcliffe. Madam Mayor, good evening. Pardon me. Uh, madame are may I ask a question of the of the Yes. Yes. Are you a first responder, ma'am? Yes, ma'am. Okay. So, you don't have to give your address. Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate that. Uh, my name is Meredith Ratcliffe. I'm the vice president of Local 375, the professional firefighters of Orange City. Um, I'm also Lieutenant Medic with the Orange City Fire Department. Um, thank you for letting us be here tonight. Uh, I am here in support of something that transcends job titles or departments. The right of every employee to be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect in the workplace. Labor unions are built on a simple but powerful principle that no employee should stand alone when facing retaliation, intimidation, or inequitable treatment. When concerns about hostile work environments are raised, employees should not fear speaking up when result that will result in punishment. That type of response is not only inappropriate, it is dangerous. Leaders who retaliate, who use retaliation, rather direct or indirect, use undermine trust, damage morale, and erode the integrity of the exoric organization they are meant to serve. I am not here to take sides in political disagreements. I'm not here to insert into interpersonalities or disputes. I'm what brings me here today is the pattern of troubling behavior outlined in recent communication behavior that if it's accurate does not align with the expectations of ethical leadership or good governance. I believe strongly that every employee regardless of position deserves a workplace free from intimidation, undue scrutiny, and fear of repraisal. When employees express legitimate concerns about how and they and their co-workers are treated, those concerns should be addressed openly, professionally, and without retaliation. That is the expectation we hold for every employer and it should be a standard here in Orange City as well. I am asking the council to ensure that any action taken here today is grounded in fairness, transparency, and honest evaluation of the facts and not in retaliation, frustration or personal conflict. The community you serve deserves leaders who model accountability, professionalism, bravery, and respect for the employees who keep the city operational every single day. Kaylee, we stand with you today not because of politics or personal alliance, but

because you have the right to fair treatment, and it is the same right that I would fight for on behalf of any of the members that I serve. And to the council, we urge you to uphold these rights, reinforce a healthy work culture, and ensure that employees feel safe bringing things to you without fear. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] Christina Bertrren.

My name is Christina Bertrand. I live at 1298 Catherine Street in Orange City. I am coming to speak on behalf of the city clerk and all the city employees. It has been brought to the community's attention that the city workers are being bullied, smoking, spoken to in demeaning manner and forced to complete inappropriate tasks requested by the mayor, which is proven facts in the emails. The city workers are not really your employees. They work here for the people who live here in Orange City. They are not your minions to boss around to fulfill your orders and desires. They work hand in hand. This has come to a head over food. A dinner provided to you by the city at the taxpayers's expense. It was not good enough, so you demanded and the city paid in some way $160 for olive garden food for the entire council and no one else. This is unexpected unacceptable behavior there. These are paid positions and nowhere does it say you will be fed. I am sure that it was a longstanding practice. But as you have said, the city money has to be accounted for. Bring your own lunch. Bring your own dinner from home. Eat before coming to the meeting. This should never be handled or done again. This city clerk stood up for herself and asked the mayor in writing to stop the unwanted behavior towards herself and the other city employees. This is the first step in any HR handbook concerning harassment, unwanted, unnecessary, derogatory, unacceptable behavior. The next step is a formal complaint and investigation and then if retaliated against or fired to sue. The current mayor has created a hostile work environment for many, and I mean many, employees to the tune of 67%

turnover rate. And this has all happened since she was elected. These are facts. I am sure if the past employees were contacted, most would say it was because of her that they resigned or retired early. The employees and all others should be protected from this bullying and harassment. I would call for the mayor to immediately resign due her bullying, extremely unprofessional behavior, and putting the city at risk for large lawsuits with this employee, possibly others that were harassed and currently bullied by her. Thank you, [applause]

Brena Dom. Are you guys gonna eat it all?

My name is Brena Dom. I work I live at uh 460 Buford Avenue. Hello council. You wanted a meeting? You got one. What a waste of time and resources this meeting has been called for. I am here to support Kaylee Berles, our city city clerk, as she is the check in the check and balance for our city. With no check, there is no balance. And to all of our city staff that have been ramrotted by the mayor's actions, these actions are blatantly abundant and damning to the ethics, morals, and culture of the entire city, staff, and community. We have lost almost 70% of our employees in the last year alone. some who truly love, respect, and benefited our city and community. Why is that? We all know and probably have experienced at one time or another, a place of employment that has gone through this. Why a lot of people leave at one time. Um, but I've never seen it in all my life, in my experience in business, and it's a lot. I've never seen it this evident. Um, therefore, I ask for the resignation of the mayor, Kelly Marx. The mayor is the only position we can afford to lose and hers is the only performance that needs to be checked. I am the new VIA president or in city president and we just recently repaired everything that you've done in in a couple of the groups in the city. We've repaired those relationships for what you have done and the lies you told about them and the bull crap that you told about them [applause] and and honestly it is sick sickeningly disappointing to me um also about the mayor's little minions and the council who are supporting this disgusting behavior. Thank you. Thank you. [applause]

Michelle Fowler.

My name is Michelle Fowler. 1595 Brown Avenue, Orange City. Um, look at all these people here. They're not here for you. They are here for that particular person who works hard, who does her job and she helps the people of this community. Like many people have said before, people resigning from their position and jobs that they truly love because of who? You. 67% that speaks volumes. Finally, somebody had the balls enough to stand up to your bullying and now you are trying to oust her. and in a manner that is disgraceful as you are knowing that her mother had surgery today and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Amen. [applause] Today the silence ends and we the citizens are sticking up for this community and the employees that are in it. So I am calling for your resignation. THANK YOU. [applause] [cheering] GARY BLAIR, MAYOR,

I'm receiving reports that the YouTube are it's cutting in and out. So, at this point, I I think we're going to address uh the speaker to just try to stay near the speaker because we actually have almost 400 people listening, which is remarkable. So, please when you're addressing, get as close to the mic as you comfortably can and it's the last speaker as on the record anyway so far. Go ahead.

My name is Gary Blair. I live at 233 East Rose Avenue in Orange City. I'm the former mayor. I have spent 26 years up here on this council. I am totally disgusted by what I'm seeing happening right now. And Miss Marks, you also called me a name. You called me a jerk in one of those emails and that to me that's unacceptable. If you want to call me a name, come up to my face, call me a name. Okay, [cheering and applause]

your evaluation of Kaye last year was all outstandings. Every single one. What happened? Why are we here tonight? A Friday night. In my entire tenure here, I never called a special meeting on a Friday night. Okay, these people are here. I haven't heard one person yet, not one, come up and speak in favor of firing Kaye. That speaks volumes. Okay, I want to appeal to the council. Okay, Mr. McHugh did a minute ago, but I want to appeal to you to dig deep down inside of you and do what is right tonight. She does not deserve to be fired. I believe I made the motion to promote her back when she moved into her. We stopped the search and we hired Kaye. She wanted x amount of dollars and usually I will try to get people down lower. I said, "No, she's worth every penny that we're going to pay her. She's proven that to me. She was nothing but exemplary in serving when I needed things. When I went to the Florida League of Cities or to Tallahassee to lobby, she was always five steps in front of me. I'd call up and say, "Well, it's going." Oh, no. Don't worry. I got She's excellent. You're tearing this city down, Miss Markx. It's exploding. This city, you're burning it down. Literally. I've never when you look at and I'm not going to mention names but look at all the senior staff that you've lost because of you

not because of most of the council now some of you go along with her and I'd appeal to you to start being an independent thinker up here [cheering] [applause] and to and to call her on when you knew darn well she had personal time off her mother's major surgery still in recovery. And speaking of mothers, my mother used to use a term and I will use it on you tonight that you are rotten to the core.

And what these people said, what these people have said for you to resign, you better go home and look in the mirror and really think about it. Cuz we love Orange City. That's why we're here. We love Orange City. And you've came from wherever you came from and you want to tear it down. So, do everyone a favor and sign out. [cheering and applause] [applause and cheering] [screaming]

Okay. Order. Is there any other public comment this evening? That's okay.

My name is Jackie Johnson. I've been sitting here all night and the abuse of power and the power tripping is insane. I have worked with Mayor Blair and several others through the my 16 years as a b business owner in this town. I have never seen this. And the emails you're trying to retaliate on, Kaylee, I was the one who asked that they be distributed because I was absolutely disgusted by the term person from the ghetto or child of the ghetto and ghetto fabulous. That is absolutely and utterly disgusting. And I do think you should resign. I think you should be recalled. [cheering] [applause]

Any other public comment? Come on up.

Yes, I'm gone. Since I don't have a form, just state your name and address for the record.

My name is Esmeralda Segura. I live at 910 Regata Bay Drive, Orange City, Florida, 32763. And I am a shy person, but when you want to talk about somebody being ghetto, um I come from the ghetto myself. And I take pride in that because I came from nothing to somebody. And when I see somebody that comes from the ghetto and there's somebody and there's somebody speaking up for other people, you need to take pride in that. And that word ghetto, I don't know why you had to use that word because that is so uncalled for because if somebody were to use I am Mexican and I'm an American and I am so proud to be an American and I'm so proud to be a surveyor and to give back to the community and be the best drafter for an engineering surveying and I've done so much for Disney, but again I am from the ghetto but I take pride of where I came from. And that silly word that you use,

uncalled for, shitty ass word you can use for anybody. And [laughter] and I just wish that you were more all of you guys were respectful to other people that are white color, Chinese, Asian, whatever. It's so uncalled for. And that's something that's in my heart. And you should not ever ever call anybody that. And God does not see color. They see what's in your heart, your personality, and what you give back to the community. And that's all I have to say. [applause]

You have to say something. There's no one across the street who would like to speak at this time. Thank you. Okay, we're going to close public comment and we're going to move on to uh council deliberation um discussion and action. Uh, we'll go down the line. Vice Mayor, do you have any comments or um anything for this? No. Comment. Councilwoman Darmms pass. Can you speak into the microphone? Sorry.

Well, I really basically want to pass. The only thing I will say is I have been a manager and I've had to deal with both hiring and dismissing. So, I know this is kind of a double-edged sword here. And I think we I don't know. we have to really consider um if you've ever been in a position where you've had that that ability. Um it's not easy. It ain't easy. I know that. And um I really don't have much to say right now. I just want to kind of keep absorbing and and know what direction that we need need to go.

Councilwoman Thompson. Yes. So I went through all of the emails and I went through the context and I went through everything that was forwarded from the city clerk to all of us on the dis even though it was we were all blind copies. She was very careful about that. So we didn't violate sunshine law if we replied all. So she wanted to make sure of that. However, we were involved in this back and forth with the emails. Um, it's apparent to me that there's some things that just do not pass the smell test. And I'm sorry that, you know, sometimes the truth doesn't care about your feelings. And honestly, if you are doing something that you shouldn't be doing, you you have to be held to a higher standard. When you are a city employee, you are held to a higher standard. You're a public servant. You're higher standard than the general public. And I'm just going to give you a couple of pieces of information. Do with it what you will, but this is the facts. And referencing the employee handbook. As an employee of the city, the city clerk is also a public servant who is held to a higher standard than the general public with regard to general conduct and ethical standards. The city relies upon the public's confidence and trust in our employees to provide effective quality services. Professionalism is a significant factor in providing the highest level of service to the public which in turn promotes organizational integrity, public trust and confidence and does not negatively affect the public perception of the city. So on social media um you are prohibited from broadcasting or disseminating information via the internet. The following any material of which the nature is derogatory to any ethnic, racial or other recognized segment of a society or which reasonable people could otherwise find offensive.

I'm not going to blast it out there, but there are things that I found offensive and they did come from our city clerk referencing the city of Orange City Charter Article 3. Let me finish, please. Appointed officers, boards, and committees. Section 3.01, council appointments. The council shall appoint the following officers, boards, and committees. So in section A it says that a city clerk appointed by and removed by the city council by a motion requiring four affirmative votes who shall give notice of meetings of the council shall record, transcribe and keep the minutes of its proceedings and shall authenticate by signature and record in full in books kept for that purpose. All ordinances and resolutions passed by the council. The city clerk shall have the power to administer oaths. The city clerk shall also validate by signature contracts made on behalf of the city and shall keep a list of outstanding city bonds when and where a payable and the rate of interest they respectfully bear. The city clerk is directly responsible to the city council as the representative of the legislative branch and government and may perform supplementary duties as assigned by ordinance or resolution of the city council. Nowhere in there does it say that the city council um does not have the city clerk reporting to them. It is true. The city clerk is at the pleasure of the city council. They are supposed to be an unbiased.

I'm sorry. Excuse me. No calling out. Thank you. It's okay. Go ahead. Do you have the floor?

It's okay. So, they're supposed to be an unbiased uh recordkeeper. They're supposed to administer oath. They're supposed to oversee municipal elections, administer support um and city council. So, when you're talking about retaliation, the emails are you got the chicken before the egg. You got the egg before the chicken. In some cases, you're doing it all wrong because what you're looking at is you're looking at a timeline that does not make sense. There were emails that were put out prior to any involvement with the mayor. The mayor absolutely in those emails that were sent out to the whole city staff and the city council, the mayor did try to make amends and say, "I don't understand why you think that this is the case." And you can read the emails yourself because it's been posted all over Facebook.

Good. And so anyway, um if you look at the timelines, you can see that. And what I say by what doesn't pass the smell test is regarding those um how do I say this? Th those those uh Facebook Messenger posts between the mayor, which she was not the mayor at the time, that was Gary Blair, and the um yeah, my my my deceased husband. Thank you. Um she was vice mayor. He was vice mayor. He was vice mayor. Excuse me. She's got the floor. Yeah. Anyway, so he was vice mayor. Correct. We were in Iceland on a vacation.

Excuse me. Councilwoman TSON, can you address the council, not the crowd? Thank you.

Sure. And so in at any rate, my husband was on um the the timeline of the 11th is when the mayor asked for the contract for Kaylee Berles. And if you read it in the emails and then when I read the next email, it's the 12th and they're having a conversation about food. And when you read Kayle's presentation, if we're talking about people overstepping their bounds, I believe it was her because of the information and the way that she went about it. Maybe that should have gone through HR and not through the whole entire city council. I feel like it's a breakdown in the trust and also how how are you going to present yourself in that manner and it still continue to flow properly. It's just not going to do that. So all of these things that I'm reading and all of these things I'm reading for Florida Senate laws and statutes and what constitutes a city clerk, it it's it's not tit for tat on an email. It's not who's going to win this and who's going to do all that. It it you're supposed to hold yourself to a higher standard. And that was why I went through and meticulously looked at all of the reasons why this when we're looking at her performance, what I was looking at. So, this was this is why it all came about. So, that's where I'm at with that.

Thank you,

Councilwoman Richardson. Thank you. As a member of Orange City Council, I want to make my position clear regarding the decision discussion surrounding the employment of our city clerk, Miss Burlson. I have only served on the council for a short time. Miss Burlson has consistently gone above and beyond to support me in my role. She has taken the time to answer every question I've had, no matter how small it it was. She has always made herself available when needed. With Orange City already going through major changes, including getting a new city manager and a new city attorney, this is not the time to make another big change by moving removing our city clerk. We need stability right now and keeping Miss Burston in this role is important for keeping things running smoothly. Miss Burlston is not only a reliable source to this council, but is a true asset to the city of Orange City and to the work we are doing for our residents. Letting her go at this time would create unnecessary disruption and slow down the process and progress we have tried to make. For this reason, I do not support any actions to terminate Miss Burlston. I fully support her and continue serve her as and continue to serve as city clerk and I believe her and experience are important in our city to move forward. [applause]

Thank you, Councilwoman Stafford.

Yes. Um, what I would like for the council to consider, as uh, Councilwoman Richardson stated, this is not time for a change. Kaylee has done went above and beyond her duties as a city clerk. that if you call sticking up for your staff as being insubordant and disrespectful to someone that's bullying your staff, um I don't understand it. I don't understand why we're here tonight. I really don't understand. I'm sitting here on time. [applause] Don't understand the purpose of us being here. We have had a young lady who has worked with us for five years and has done an excellent job. And Madame Mayor, just on the meeting that we had on November the 12th, you just complimented her on an excellent job she's doing. Also, Councilwoman Dorm, you said she is the most transparent uh clerk that we've had. She has provided us with information that we don't usually receive. So I'm I'm I mean I'm not understanding the reason for this. I really don't because this young lady, Miss Bergensson, has been outstanding. She has looked at the heart of the city. She knew what it was important about in the city. The the messengers message that everybody keep referring to. Uh, and since everyone is referring to it, I feel like since I was one of the persons in it, I should be able to speak up and speak out.

It was downright [applause] downright racist. It was downright disrespectful. And no disrespect to anyone alive or dead. I had the utmost respect for Alex Tenson until I read that. I looked at him as a true nonpartisan person who loved people who had a love for all people. I looked at him as not seeing color but seeing the person and what we can do to better our city. My, as you said in the I said my city because I take pride in my city in which all these people are people that have elected us to be watchful and like you always said be conscious of how we spend their money which is not being done by this council by this council. [clears throat] So, I'm I'm I'm I'm much dismayed that we're here tonight even considering getting rid of a person had that has brought us from where we were to where we are now with a lot of hard work, respect, and because she she believe in going by the rules, regulation that's in the book and not because anyone told her to. She followed this book and she loves her staff. She loves the people she works with the city of Earn City. Even though your staff here, when staff come in here and they get to know the family, it's like a family. We not might they be rel related by blood, but our staff people have looked at each other as part of their family. And when you attack their family, the only thing they can do is come out and support them and let you know that this is not right. And so [applause] so one of the things that I am really speaking on, I am not in favor of

releasing an excellent worker from a job that's been well done. And we have told her that on several occasions. So why are we trying to dismiss her now? [cheering and applause] Councilwoman Knight. I have a kind heart. I have empathy. And I have genuine love for people in my heart. I make mistakes. We all do. But we got to man up and admit when we're wrong. Then you got to look at yourself and you've got to decide what could you have done different? What could you be? What how could you change? I managed 230 employees that reported to me at bank for 20 years. In 20 years time, I never never terminated an employee without having a conversation and disciplinary action first.

YES. [applause] I think the emails and stuff that went back and forth could have been handled differently. I think you should have sat down and had face-toface conversations with an HR rep president. The way this has been handled is ridiculous. I'm embarrassed. Yes, I'm sad. I'm upset because we used to be friends. And I used to try to tell you, you need to be careful about how you word things and how you present yourself. I tried to help you. order.

And I know there's been some issues with us and that's okay. But I'm not going to sit here and lie cuz I've already been caught up in that once and it ain't going to happen again. [applause] [applause] I don't agree that we should terminate Kaylee. Kayleie's been there for every one of us up here. And if any of you sit up here and look at me and tell me different, you're lying.

You go to her, you ask her for stuff, and she's on top of, she gets it for you. Now, this email and all this social media business, I hate to tell y'all, I found out that stuff was leaked by other people who had requested it. Someone I don't even know who sent it to my personal email address and I don't even know how they got it. So y'all need to be thinking about that. People mess up. People make mistakes and people handle stuff wrong front to back. It ain't just Kayle's fault. It's your fault, too.

[applause] both of y'all could have handled this much differently and we wouldn't be sitting here tonight. Now, I'm not I'm sitting here. I stand on my own two feet. I'm not afraid to go against people up on this council for you because when I ran for office, I said I was standing on my own two feet. I'm my own person. But I will say this is wrong. Amen. It's wrong on multiple levels. I'm sorry Alex got pulled into this. I've always respected him because he always gave me good information and gave me good direction.

But I'm going to tell you, I was sad when I saw that cuz I don't want to look at Alex any different than I did when he was here. But it made me sad. And it made me sad for you to have to deal with it. The only reason I haven't said anything about any of this stuff is because I wouldn't touch it with a 10ft pole. But I'm going to say it now. This is wrong. And for somebody to not have any kindness or empathy or anything, shame on you.

Shame. [applause] You don't know what's going on in people's lives either. And even though we got to check stuff at that door, sometimes it's difficult. It's difficult for me to sit up here tonight because my husband's fighting prostate cancer. He's going through radiation treatments and our plan was to spend quality time together tonight to watch a movie. Instead, I'm sitting up here. Now,

again, this could have been handled differently. And if we were smart, we wouldn't look at terminating, but we would look at sitting down and try to figure out how you could work it out. That's how I feel on both sides. I'm going to be fair. I'm not pointing fingers in one direction or the other. But I'm telling you, this is wrong. And y'all need to be thinking about that. And if you can go home tonight and look yourself in the mirror and say, "I've never done anything like that in my life." Then you're lying to yourself.

Cuz I know I have been insubordinate in the past, I'd be lying to myself. So it's something to think about. Something to think about. I've gotten to where I'm almost embarrassed to sit on this council because I'm hearing from Deltona, the land, the Berry, New Smyrna Beach. We're a laughing stock. [cheering] Yes, we are. And that is not what we got up here to do. We got up here to bring this community together, not tear it apart.

What are we doing? What are we doing? I love our city. I love it. citizens. But for God's sake, think about what you're doing. I will not support terminating Kayie Brotherson. [applause and cheering] [applause and cheering] Okay. Um,

excuse me. I'm going to answer a couple questions and then we're going to move on. Okay.

So, first of all, I always thought Kaylee was a good clerk. I really did. But things changed in the last couple weeks with these emails and all that and and when we're having discussions through email like that, it's not acceptable. It's not it. I clearly asked for her contract on November 12 or November 11th from the interim city manager that evening and I actually I texted her I think and I said I'm trying to call the clerk's office but nobody's answering. And I said I called twice and nobody's answering. And she and I was working and she was working and I said she said well it's Veterans Day. And I said duh. Okay, I'm so sorry. I said, "When you go in in the morning, will you get a copy of her contract for me?" She said, "Sure." She sent it to me the next day. Soon as I got that contract in my email, as well as I think you all did. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's when it all blew up with emails about the council food and um you know, different the different things I have here of the emails. Excuse me. no shout outs. So, the bottom line is is, you know, we went around and around about the food thing and

Excuse me. One more time and you're out of here. One more time and you're out of here. Okay. outside. Excuse me. Excuse me. I know you all are passionate, but please let her speak. Chief, can you remove her, please? I'm glad we leave. Thank you. [applause]

Thank you. [cheering] I really just want to get through this meeting. That's what I'm trying to do here. Okay, I'm calling a 10-minute recess. Thank you.

Swear to God. We'll return at 8:17. Not leaving, are you? Huh? You're not leaving, are you?

Worried about her. I'm worried about her. This is the beginning. This is just the beginning. I'm not going in here. backpack buddies funneling money through helping hands

funneling Monday through the Tom Tom Oh yeah you know Tom right yeah the core civic and the private prison groups I don't think I'm not tracking all How's the feeling? Um, straight down this go down this hallway, make a left, and it's going to be down on your left. I'm sorry I didn't speak. I wish you

Yeah. I ain't got time for a minute. I'm going to tell the Why not?

Can I see you for a second? I'm sorry. I ran you off because he really wanted to talk to her by earlier and I didn't get it. Oh, I wanted him to have his minute. Thank you.

[laughter]

I'm sorry. Oh my god. Better take a

Are you tired? had a few outside.

I'm going to have a piece of pizza, but The boat's going. in the uh I know I didn't

ask favorites. But any rate, I had a I had a bolt broken engine block. I don't know. I didn't break it. I did not healing. I hired a guy to do I did everything, but I hired a guy kind of ripped me off. I got the new study. I didn't even think about it. I should have

purple I'm like I'm like If photographer I'm I'm Hey, we're going to call the meeting to order.

Lost my page.

Okay. At this time, um, Mr. Waters, how do you how should we proceed with this? Okay, Madame Mayor, we have a motion and a second. And I recommend we call the vote. Okay. Can the clerk call the vote, please? Sure. Vice Mayor Grim, no. Council member Stafford, no. Council member Richardson, no. Council member Darmms, no. Council member Knight, no. Council member Tiam Thompson, yes. Mayor Marks,

yes. Okay. So the uh the motion fails and uh the meeting motion to adjurnn. [cheering] [applause] [cheering] [applause] Can I get order? [cheering] I just need a motion to adjurnn, please. Yes, madame mayor. I'd like to make a motion for adjournment. Second. We have a motion. We have a second. All in favor say I. I. Motion

motion. [applause] [laughter] [screaming] No. [applause] Can you hear me?