Winter Springs interim city manager fired in 4-1 vote 

Monday evening’s contentious Winter Springs city commission meeting resulted in a newly seated set of city commissioners motioning to fire Interim City Manager Phil Hursh and asking two surprised staffers whether they could take over the job. With the city manager fired the city needed, by law, to appoint another immediately. That’s when the confusion set in.

Hursh, who was set to be replaced by new city manager Kevin Sweet on Dec. 16, was ousted through a motion made by Deputy Mayor Cade Resnick during the commission’s first meeting with its newest members on the dais. 

Winter Springs Mayor Kevin McCann said he had some legal concerns over potentially terminating Hursh from his position and questioned if Resnick’s motivations for doing so were related to his potential nomination choices. 

“By city charter, we cannot be without a city manager even for a moment so if we terminate, who will we be bringing in?” McCann said. “I’m going to take a shot, is Mayor Lacey sitting here this late because you have a nomination that you’re going to bring in?”

Charles Lacey, the city’s former mayor, had taken to the public comment podium earlier in the meeting to lambast the city’s outgoing commissioners earlier, referring to the end of “a long nightmare.” 

Resnick denied McCann’s claim that he wished to nominate Lacey.

The motion to terminate Hursh later passed 4-1 with Commissioner Paul Diaz as the only dissenting vote. 

Discussion between McCann and Resnick on the matter remained tense, with McCann continuing to describe some of the night’s actions as a form of “payback.” 

“I’m saying this is payback time and I can’t believe that we’re not just going to let the poor guy finish these last couple of weeks out,” McCann said. “We have a new commission. We have a new city manager. We’re turning the page … let the payback stop, and let’s move on.”

“You’re right, but we shouldn’t have been treated the way we were either,” Resnick said, responding to McCann. “We shouldn’t have been disrespected, people shouldn’t have been lied to and I shouldn’t have had emails or conversations with people who were promised one thing and told another.”

Caruso also voiced his support for Resnick’s motion and told the commission that they ultimately “answer to the residents.” 

“I’ve heard from too many residents comment that instead of helping the residents fix their problem with certain things that they had, that [they were told] they should just move out of the city,” Caruso said, an accusation that Hursh denied. 

“That’s an ineffective city manager who should have been removed a long time ago, but there weren’t four votes,” Resnick said. 

In a LinkedIn post made the day after the vote, Diaz said he “stood alone” against the commission’s “unnecessary and reckless decision” to remove Hursh with just three weeks left in his role. 

“This chaos was completely unnecessary,” Diaz’s post read. “At a time when our city needs a steady hand and a focus on stability, this decision added disorder and uncertainty instead. Winter Springs deserves better.” 

According to city attorney Anthony Garganese, Hursh’s contract states that the city manager serves at the “pleasure of the city commission and can be terminated with or without cause.”

The contract also stipulates that following termination from the position of interim city manager, Hursh is entitled to resume his position as director of public works and engineering. Hursh had risen into the role of the city’s temporary manager after Shawn Boyle retired suddenly in February of 2023.

Rule on city mayor discussed

The motion was originally introduced during Resnick’s heated discussion with McCann regarding Resnick’s suggestion to bring back a commission decision made to limit the mayor’s ability to comment during meetings. 

“It was specific to the mayor at the time that he was not allowed to speak until the end of each agenda item because he spoke too much,” Resnick said, referencing Lacey in the meeting audience. 

“I’m not exactly sure what rule you’re talking about and how it would be implemented,” McCann said. 

The rule referenced by Resnick was previously initiated by the commission in December of 2020, four months prior to Lacey’s resignation in March of 2021. According to Resnick, the rule would require for the mayor to speak after agenda items had already been voted on by the commission and for a duration of five minutes. 

Resnick told McCann that while he considers him to be an “amazing man”, he feels the idea might be needed with consideration for the commission’s tendency for lengthy meetings. 

“I’d like to actually bring that back and implement it, because I think part of our situation is we all talk too much,” Resnick said. 

Though McCann said he’d attended many meetings in the past and had never heard of the rule, Resnick said he plans to bring the matter up again at the next meeting on Dec. 9, with time for McCann and other members of the dais to review.  

McCann repeatedly expressed his opposition of the motion throughout the final hour of the meeting, as well as Resnick’s proposal regarding the mayor’s ability to offer input on an item before a commission vote. 

“I used the word payback when it was me being muzzled, now I use the term again,” McCann said. “Boy, is it payback night. So, now we’re going to move forward to terminate the city manager. I guess my first question is who would the next city manager be, because we’re not leaving without a city manager.”

Who will serve the interim?

Resnick asked if either Director of Operations Brian Dunnigan or Finance Director Holly Queen would be willing to take on the position for the next 28 days.

Both city staff members expressed their initial reservations on the surprise request, citing personal matters and a possible impact on city work. 

“Respectfully, I don’t feel comfortable,” Dunigan said. “I know that’s probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but for the next 28 days whoever is going to be in this role needs to be 100% committed to our residents.”

“It would make things a lot more complicated in the finance realm with levels of authorization and things such as that,” Queen said. “Having the finance director also as the acting city manager.”

After a 15-minute recess, both Dunigan and Queen returned and shared that after discussion between themselves, staff and their families they would agree to serve as interim city manager until Sweet’s start date, with Dunigan serving first and choosing Queen to fill in for his brief upcoming absence in order to take a previously scheduled vacation week off. 

“I want nothing more than the city to be successful,” Dunigan said. “I’d like to be part of that success in some small capacity and given the circumstances of this situation, I am willing to accept this position for the next 28 days until Mr. Sweet joins us.”

Though he said he took no issue with Dunigan or Queen themselves, resident Art Gallo later questioned the commission during its public input of its rationale for terminating Hursh and his immense upset at the decision to do so, calling the night “wrong on so many levels.” 

“When I got up here the first time, I said as long as you keep the city going in the right direction we’ll be okay,” Gallo said. “Explain to me how this is the right direction.” 

As the nearly five-hour meeting drew to a close resident Carolyn Wallace closed the public input section of the night and addressed the commission’s actions, expressing her disbelief in what had just occurred. 

“Tonight, I have to say I’m so disappointed in my commission … you were elected to serve the people, you were not elected to self-serve,” Wallace said.