CRA chief Roxanne Manning forced out by Tallahassee city manager

Tallahassee Democrat

Roxanne Manning, executive director of the Community Redevelopment Agency, was dismissed today by City Manager Reese Goad.

"I greatly appreciate Roxanne and her enthusiasm and passion for what she's done," Goad said. "But at this point it was time to make a change."

Manning told the Tallahassee Democrat she didn't see the personnel move coming, but said leadership changes are not unusual within local government.

On Monday, Manning and her staff facilitated a workshop at the Lincoln Center in Frenchtown. It was the first time the CRA's governing board was present at a workshop held outside of City Hall. The board, made up of the entire City Commission, expressed a "need to get things going and demonstrate progress," Goad said.

When asked the reason for Manning's dismissal, Goad said, "these things don't happen in one day or overnight. This is a long-term direction."

"You heard a lot of energy coming from the board," he said, regarding the CRA board's reaction to comments and complaints expressed during the workshop. "But that's not new. We didn't just hear it for the first time the other night, so all of those things feed into decisions like this."

At Monday's workshop, citizens blasted the CRA's priorities and lack of focus on blighted areas.

CRA Chairman Curtis Richardson said he learned about Manning's dismissal from reading the Democrat's online article. After being in staff meetings all day, he didn't have a chance to see whether Goad notified him via email.

Richardson said he could understand why there may be a need for the leadership in the organization to "better address the issues the community brought forward."

"I think a new leader coming in will have an opportunity on how best to position the CRA. And obviously, if the City Manager made the decision that he did, he doesn't feel like it's positioned as well as it could to address the issues in the community," Richardson said. "I think we will be very deliberate on who we bring in."

Assistant City Manager Wayne Tedder, Manning's direct boss, will head the agency until someone else is named.

Goad, in a one-page letter to Manning, said her position with the city would be "severed" effective April 10. He noted she serves at the pleasure of the city manager but did not specify a reason for her exit. The letter said the city would offer Manning a severance package if she resigned.

"Right now, I'm just considering my options," Manning said, adding she hasn't decided whether to resign or be terminated.

CRA under scrutiny through the years:

CRA Director Roxanne Manning speaks during the CRA meeting held Monday, Sep 25 at City Hall.

Manning had planned on retiring in two years. She was hired as the CRA's executive director in 2014 by former City Manager Anita Favors after working in the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department for nearly a decade. Before coming to Tallahassee, Manning was an assistant city manager for the city of West Palm Beach.

Manning led the CRA during a particularly turbulent time in which the agency faced harsh criticism from the community, and its dealings came under intense scrutiny by the FBI in an ongoing public corruption probe.

However, Manning said she's proud of the work the CRA has accomplished. She pointed to the major redevelopment of Gaines Street and the city's former electric building that was converted to The Edison Restaurant.

The CRA was in the midst of shifting its focus to neighborhood friendly efforts and projects to help small businesses after large-scale projects began to produce more funding for the Downtown and Greater Frenchtown/Southside districts.

"We had a lot to look forward to with the new board," said Manning, referring to the four new city commissioners who served on the CRA's board. "I hope they will continue the work."

Contact TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com or follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.