The Key West City Commission on Wednesday approved an amended employment contract for City Manager Brian Barroso after more than an hour of discussion and public comment, voting 5-2 in favor of revised terms that scaled back several proposed increases.
Commissioner Donie Lee introduced the successful amendment from the dais, lowering Barroso’s proposed base salary from $295,000 to $265,000 annually. The amendment also kept severance at 15 weeks rather than the 20 weeks included in the original draft.
Lee further moved to keep the city manager’s vehicle allowance at $500 per month instead of increasing it to $900 and to maintain reimbursement-based expense provisions rather than adopting broader flat allowances discussed earlier in negotiations.
Commissioners Greg Veliz, Donie Lee, Lissette Carey, Monica Haskell and Aaron Castillo voted in favor of the amended contract, forming the five-vote majority. Haskell prefaced her vote as being in the spirit of compromise.
The two dissenting votes came from Commissioner Sam Kaufman, a mayoral candidate and one of the contract’s most vocal critics, and Mayor Danise Henriquez. Kaufman argued throughout the debate that the compensation package remained too high and raised concerns about communication and transparency surrounding the negotiations. Henriquez paused before casting her vote against the agreement after the measure had already secured enough support to pass. Some members of the audience characterized the hesitation as dramatized political theater.
The majority of public comment during the meeting opposed any increase to the city manager’s contract, with several speakers urging commissioners to reject the proposal outright or delay action.
During the discussion, commissioners also confirmed there had been no negotiations between Barroso and outside City Attorney Mayanne Downs on the amended terms, which some commissioners noted differed from past practice.
Downs, an out-of-town contract attorney whose services are billed at $500 per hour, was not present at the meeting, and no reason for her absence was given.
Assistant City Attorney Kendal Harden attended in her place.
When fully wrapped with benefits, pension contributions and related costs — commonly estimated at about 30% above base salary for executive compensation — the total annual package is expected to cost taxpayers roughly $345,000 per year.
The term for City Manager also remained at two years rather than the proposed four year increase. That change raised concerns that an increase in pay and term coupled with an increase in severance pay would hamstring the will of a new commission with an August election on the horizon.
Supporters of the amended contract said the revisions struck a balance between retaining the city’s top administrator and addressing public concerns about the scale of the proposed raise. Opponents said the package still represents a substantial increase at a time of broader fiscal pressures.
The vote came during the commission’s regular meeting at City Hall following more than an hour of discussion on the item.
