The City of Pahokee is not in the position to have an on-the-job trainee as Interim City Manager or Permanent City Manager

The Pahokee City Commission hosted its regular scheduled meeting on Tuesday, October 14 which was also the first meeting with Interim City Manager Bussey. This meeting only had two city business items which were 2 resolutions. The first one was recognizing October 20-26, 2025, as Florida City Week and recognizing October 2025 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Despite that, the majority novice Commission members managed to drag the meeting into a 1 hour and 47-minute gathering. This meeting was another glaring example that this group of first-time elected officials are more performative than substance.

A shocking part of the meeting was when McPherson asked for the Permanent City Manager job ad/qualifications be removed from the city website. He said he wanted the Commission to review the qualifications. Mayor Babb rightfully reminded the Commission that HR put out the qualifications which were the same ones used by the Commission for the last several Manager searches. This is puzzling since the permanent manager qualifications are the exact same ones posted for the Interim City Manager. What exactly is there to review about the permanent city manager qualifications when the Commission hired the Interim Manager under the exact same qualifications? It is my contention, that McPherson and others want to dumb down the permanent city chief executive qualifications so they can eventually install Bussey into permanent status.

Interim City Manager: https://www.cityofpahokee.com/sites/g/files/vyhlif4841/f/uploads/interim_city_manager_job_description_9-18-2025.pdf

City Manager: https://www.cityofpahokee.com/sites/g/files/vyhlif4841/f/uploads/city_manager_job_description_9-2-2025.pdf

Meeting video: https://www.youtube.com/live/xdlert-rrGU

Pahokee’s high City Manager turnover has most definitely caused stagnation in Pahokee progress, projects, funding, administration, staffing, etc. The city is in a precarious position and has been for some time. Other levels of government and municipal funders are watching the city closely for its decisions and votes. At the end of last night’s meeting, the online YouTube video had 161 views. As of this morning, the total views are now 369. This group of Commissioners are continuing to damage Pahokee’s future through their words, actions, and votes.

Lastly, the City of Pahokee is not in the position to have an on-the-job trainee as Interim City Manager or Permanent City Manager. The Commission’s pick of Bussey as Interim Manager does not have the qualifications (particularly education and experience) in the city’s own Interim City Manager and City Manager job ad/qualifications. So, ask yourself, why would she be their top choice if not for personal or favoritism reasons? Unfortunately, Pahokee is in for a long bumpy road ahead.

Sincerely,
David Joseph Ruiz
Advocate For Pahokee