HAINES CITY — City Commissioners did not give a consensus to annually evaluate the city attorney at a workshop on Thursday night.

The idea was first proposed by Commissioner Anne Huffman at a previous meeting, noting that of the commission’s three appointees — city manager, city clerk and city attorney — it was the only position that was not evaluated. Huffman noted that City Attorney Fred Reilly is the only person regularly paid with taxpayer dollars who does not receive an evaluation.

Vice Mayor Morris West said he would also be in favor of evaluating the attorney. West said it would allow him to know his strengths and weaknesses and how to interact with each member of the commission.

“I think an evaluation is good and before budget time, we need to evaluate him before we approve his budget,” the vice mayor said. “I think he’s doing a good job. An evaluation is not bad on him. It helps him to see where he needs to improve and where he's slacking.”

The other three members of the commission — Commissioners Don Mason and Horace West and Mayor Roy Tyler — were not in favor of authoring an annual evaluation.

“There’s so much that a city attorney does that has to be done — I’m going to say — somewhat in the dark,” Mason said. “There’s attorney-client privilege and things like that. My opinion of the city attorney over the last four years is that he’s done a pretty good job. The job of the city attorney is not to fight lawsuits, it’s to keep you out of lawsuits. Compared to where we were before, there’s a lot less of them.”

Commissioner West noted that when the time comes to renew his contract, that could be the time for commissioners to provide feedback. Mason added that Reilly could be fired at any commission meeting. Although the attorney’s budget has gone up from $150,000 last fiscal year to $170,000 for the current, Tyler noted that his hourly rate has not increased.

“I will gladly do whatever the commission decides,” Reilly said. “I’m not afraid to hear feedback. What I’ve tried to do during my tenure is to have an open door to address any issue where there is a concern.”

Reilly added that although he’s an appointment, he’s not technically a city employee.

“The contract does not have a severance provision,” Reilly said. “That way, if the City Commission ever wants to make a clean break with the attorney, they can do that in a manner as timely as they wish.”

During the public comments portion of the meeting, resident Sharon Garrett noted that Reilly’s bills to the city were clearly itemized and added that his hourly rate of $150 was cheap compared to other attorneys.

“You guys have got a bargain,” she said. “If you fire him, I'll be glad to hire him.”

KID BALLA RECOGNIZED

Curtis Marshawn Bean, an 8-year-old second grade student at Bethune Academy, was recognized during the meeting for going viral on Facebook and YouTube for rap videos with a positive message. Bean raps under the name “Kid Balla”.

His videos have been viewed tens of thousands of times on Facebook. His family is trying to raise money for him to audition in California for America’s Got Talent in February to spread the message. Huffman said she would match half of what Curtis’ football team and cheerleaders, the Northeast Rattlers, were able to raise.

“Bring it,” she said.

Mike Ferguson can be reached at Mike.Ferguson@theledger.com or 863-4016981. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.