High Springs commission votes to fire city manager

Drumm on paid suspension until public hearing

City Manager Jim Drumm may be out of work after High Springs commissioners voted to fire him pending a hearing scheduled in October.

 Mayor Bill Coughlin made the motion to terminate Drumm’s employment.  That motion passed in a 4-1 vote.  Commissioner Larry Travis did not support the move.

 Some commissioners’ confidence in Drumm began slipping recently, especially in light of a recent discovery that an accounting mishap left the city short by $600,000 of what it thought was in the bank.

At last week’s commission meeting, a heated discussion ensued regarding who may be to blame for the oversight.

Although commissioners voted to fire Drumm, their action cannot be finalized until a mandatory public hearing is conducted.  Commissioners scheduled that hearing for Oct. 21, placing Drumm on a paid suspension until that time.

The commission voted unanimously to appoint Deputy Clerk Jenny Parham as the interim city manager and city clerk.

For details and the complete story, see the Sept. 30 print edition of Alachua County Today.