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Fort Lauderdale City Manager Rickelle Williams attends a city commission meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (Mike Stocker\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n
(Mike Stocker\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n
\u201cI also want to thank the dedicated members of city staff who have embraced my leadership approach in pushing for integrity and delivering excellence and raising the bar,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I want to thank each and every one of them for their service during my tenure. I have seen nothing but great people who are dedicated and hardworking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fort Lauderdale\u2019s city manager position is notorious for its high turnover. Williams is the fifth person to hold the high-pressure position in seven years.<\/p>\n
While Williams\u2019 did not give an explicit reason for her decision to part ways with the city, Mayor Dean Trantalis acknowledged she had \u201ca lot of reasons,\u201d some personal.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou set an example for a lot of people in the city, and we thank you for that,\u201d Trantalis said.<\/p>\n
Hiring spree or \u2018investments in our workforce\u2019<\/p>\n
Williams faced criticism both in and outside of City Hall,<\/a> especially when it came to finances. Williams raised eyebrows when she promoted 20 upper management staff and created new high-paid positions, just as the city faced a budget crunch. Just last week, a Florida Politics poll showed Fort Lauderdale voters disapproved of her spending.<\/a><\/p>\n In May, during a tense commission meeting, a majority of commissioners declined to give her a raise<\/a> after her first year on the job. Williams made an annual salary of $350,000,<\/a> the highest paid city manager in Fort Lauderdale history. Mayor Dean Trantalis, Commissioner Steven Glassman and Commissioner John Herbst took issue with her leadership, accusing her of being dismissive to subordinates and ruffling too many feathers. The mayor floated the idea to place Williams on probation for six months, angering the city manager\u2019s supporters in the crowd.<\/p>\n Williams defended herself at the meeting: \u201cI never want to come across as dismissive or imperious. Sometimes a person in my role has to be assertive and has to be a leader. I have done nothing but push this city forward. I ask questions [of my staff]. And some questions probably should have been asked many years ago. And I\u2019m now asking them because I want to help.\u201d<\/p>\n