“I Can’t Fire Him… He is Family”

Personnel records indicate Zachary Bentley received his ISA certification two years after being hired as an Assistant Urban Forester without the requisite experience and certifications.

From left, Assistant Urban Forester Zachary Bentley, Mayor Danise Henriquez and donor Bill Marracini along with members of the Public Works Department prepare to plant a Lignum Vitae tree in three inches of saltwater at 100 Duval Street

KEY WEST, Fla. — Another management-level resignation has added to growing scrutiny and turmoil surrounding the City of Key West’s Planning Department after former Urban Forester Brett Mayle alleged Assistant Urban Forester Zachary Bentley admitted he lied about his qualifications for the job.

After pushback from City Manager Brian Barroso, Mayle said it was just too much.

Mayle, who resigned last week, said he confronted Bentley after discovering he did not appear to meet the City’s published minimum qualifications for the position of Assistant Urban Forester.

“I confronted Zachary about his qualifications and he admitted that he lied about them and committed fraud,” Mayle said. “At the time, he told me ‘sometimes you have to lie in order to get ahead in business.’”

According to the City’s published job description, applicants for Assistant Urban Forester were required to possess a Bachelor’s degree in forestry or a related field, three years of progressively responsible experience in urban forestry or arboriculture, and certification as an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist.

Liking trees was not one of the listed qualifications.

The same tree — planted in saltwater at 100 Duval Street by Assistant Urban Forester Zachary Bentley — three weeks later. / CONTRIBUTED

City personnel records obtained and reviewed by Above the Fold indicate Bentley did not hold ISA Certified Arborist certification when he was hired in 2024, nor did he meet the educational requirements and have the three years of experience required for the job or to sit for ISA credentials.

Bentley listed his qualifications as being a charter captain, licensed realtor and “previous landscaping jobs for certain clients and acquantences.”

It is unclear how Bentley’s application with the City went unvetted, although an email in the file shows that the Human Resources Department had concerns that Bentley did not meet the minimum qualifications and pushed back.

The City of Key West Human Resources Department had doubts about Bentley’s qualifications, although there seems to be a gap between HR’s Kerri Voekel and Bentley’s subsequent hiring. After being hired, it was almost two years and multiple attempts before passing the ISA exam — which he was unqualified to take.

The file contains an ISA Certified Arborist certificate showing the credential was issued on May 21, 2026, nearly two years after his initial hiring.

The final decision to move Bentley from part-time to full-time was made by Growth Management Director Patrick Wright.

City Manager Brian Barroso, left, and Growth Management Director Patrick Wright.

The personnel records reviewed also do not contain documentation showing Bentley possessed the required bachelor’s degree at the time he was hired.

Although he does hold a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality, nothing indicates any formal training as an arborist or a Bachelor’s in a related field.

Likewise, the records reviewed do not document that he had accumulated the three years of qualifying professional experience required by the City’s published minimum qualifications before his appointment.

Mayle said those deficiencies prompted him to confront Bentley after learning he lacked the required degree, the required experience and the required ISA certification when he entered the position.

“He told me that Rob Crider of Just Key’s Trees had signed off for his time and experience,” said Mayle.

Mayle said he explained to Bentley that if that were true and Crider was a certified arborist, he could face a lifetime ban from the ISA.

ISA was contacted, but declined to comment on the current status of Bentley’s certification.

Personnel action forms contained in the file show Bentley later served as Interim Urban Forester twice before returning to the Assistant Urban Forester position after the City appointed a new urban forester — all the while lacking the minimum qualifications and credentials.

“After I was hired in September, Zachary told me that he had applied for the permanent position and that it should have been ‘his,’” said Mayle.

The records reviewed do not explain how City officials determined Bentley satisfied the published minimum qualifications for the position or whether an exception to those requirements was granted — although Growth Management Director Patrick Wright was the one that made the decision to bring him on full time.

Bentley’s official staff directory page doesn’t mention anything about qualifications for the position of Urban Forester — or trees.

Mayle’s resignation marks the latest management-level departure within the Planning Department amid ongoing controversy over personnel decisions. He said that he takes pride in being a professional and could not operate the way City Hall does.

The final straw came after going to Key West City Manager Brian Barroso — a distant relative of Bentley’s — multiple times and asking for the latter to be moved out of the Urban Forestry Department.

“He told me that he couldn’t fire him because he is ‘family,’” said Mayle. “He suggested maybe Zachary could just handle permits until a reduction in force starts on July 26 in an attempt to respond to budget meetings.”

But Mayle said Barroso told him “he would find another job for him somewhere else in the city.”

Since his resignation, Mayle said the city had contacted him about reconsidering with a significant increase in pay.

“I just can’t operate that way. I am a professional and believe in accountability.”

Barroso did not return requests for comment.

Ed. Note: Revolving doors, shouting matches, reductions in force and more… tomorrow.