By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph City Manager Bruce Woody has been offered a new job in Florida, but has not officially resigned his position with the city.
Mayor Bill McMurray says it is too soon to talk of Woody’s resignation.
“Bruce has not sent any formal notice to the city council, because things have not been finalized with the organization down in Florida,” McMurray tells St. Joseph Post.
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority has voted to offer its executive director position to Woody, but his contract has not been finalized. The position is said to pay between $160,000 and $225,000 annually.
Woody has been with St. Joseph city government for a long time. He first came to the city as part of the Public Works Department in 1995, eventually becoming Public Works Director. Woody has served as St. Joseph City Manager for eight years.
McMurray will call for a closed-door executive session of the city council next week to discuss the matter.
“It probably will come to pass and if it does, we would be prepared to hit the ground running, tying up details for Bruce here in St. Joe and finding an interim city manager and putting out an RFP (request for proposals) for a search firm for the new city manager,” McMurray says.
This news didn’t originate in St. Joseph. It appears it leaked out of Florida and a quick search of the Internet discloses news media reporting on the intention of Emerald Coast to hire Woody as early as Monday. It took a while to filter down to here.