came under fire<\/a> in May when she got critical feedback from three of her commission bosses during an awkward yet public job performance review that sparked an outcry from some of her supporters.<\/p>\nMayor Dean Trantalis faulted Williams for what he called several missteps, from not sharing key information to treating some subordinates with a dismissive attitude \u2014 including the police and fire chiefs.<\/p>\n
Commissioner John Herbst urged Williams to stop creating new staff positions when the city is potentially facing a string of tight budget years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have some very expensive positions that you\u2019ve created that never existed before,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cYou are building your executive staff with people who make $250,000 a year. And we can\u2019t afford that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams kept her job that night but was denied a standard 3% merit raise.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Pamela Beasley-Pittman and Vice Mayor Ben Sorensen defended Williams that night in May and shared words of praise Thursday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stood as a person who represented this city with 100% of your heart,\u201d Beasley-Pittman told Williams. \u201cI want to thank you for that. I am grateful for your service to our city. I wish you well. The next city that picks you up, bravo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sorensen thanked Williams for doing her job with grit, determination and integrity.<\/p>\n
\u201cCity manager, this is a sad day for the city of Fort Lauderdale,\u201d he told her. \u201cYou have acted with integrity. You have acted with excellence. We as a city commission have not supported you as we should have. I thank you for all you\u2019ve done and wish you all the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioner Steve Glassman said he wanted to clear up any rumors that Williams was being fired.<\/p>\n
Glassman shared that he got a call from Williams on Tuesday night saying she was ready to step down as city manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish you the best,\u201d Glassman told Williams. \u201cThis is not an easy job. I do want to thank you for your service.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herbst also thanked her, telling her she had taken on one of the toughest jobs at City Hall.<\/p>\n
Trantalis also shared his gratitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve set an example for a lot of people in the city \u2014 and we thank you for that,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve helped move the city forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five residents who signed up to speak at Thursday night\u2019s meeting sang Williams\u2019 praises.<\/p>\n
One woman held back tears as she praised Williams.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to thank you for being here in Fort Lauderdale and helping guide us through,\u201d she said. \u201cYou are really special. We\u2019re going to miss you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Resident Tina DiMarco urged Williams to reconsider her decision to leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not accept your resignation,\u201d she told Williams. \u201cNot because you owe us more. You\u2019ve given plenty. I won\u2019t pretend the last few months have not been ugly<\/a>. They have. True leaders aren\u2019t made in the easy stretches. They\u2019re forged in exactly the kind of storm you\u2019ve been standing in. I hope this isn\u2019t the end. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\nSusannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rickelle Williams stepped into the role of Fort Lauderdale city manager last year saying she wanted to stay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[506,28,249,251,250,114,266,109],"class_list":["post-328156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-broward-county","tag-florida","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-social"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}