MARCO ISLAND, Fla. — The chairman of Marco Island’s City Council tried to fire the city manager on Monday after an independent financial audit revealed problems with how some state and federal grants were reported.
The move came as a surprise during Monday’s council meeting as no audit discussion was listed on the agenda.
WATCH THE TENSE BACK ON FORTH FROM MONDAY'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING:
Among 18 complaints, Chairman Erik Brechnitz said the city’s independent audit showed “material weaknesses” in financial reporting — a serious red flag, according to the auditors. He claimed City Manager Mike McNees knew about the audit for weeks, but did not inform the council.
“This is a very serious matter,” Brechnitz said. “Auditors don’t use the term ‘material weakness’ unless something is very wrong."
McNees pushed back, calling the firing attempt an “ambush.” He said he was aware of some email exchanges between the city’s finance director and auditors, but didn’t know the audit had been made public.
“Firing your city manager without any public notice is beyond sneaky,” McNees said at the meeting. "Frankly, I think that this while conversation is inappropriate, it was not on your agenda."
Council members agreed the audit raised concerns but said it was unfair to take action without first hearing directly from the auditors. Councilwoman Deb Henry also criticized the chairman for bringing the issue up without warning.
"I think this is just wrong," Henry said during the meeting.
A day after the heated exchange, Finance Director Guillermo Gil Polanco submitted his resignation.
In an interview with Fox 4 on Wednesday, McNees admitted mistakes were made and that the audit should not have gone live on the city's website before councilors were notified. He said there is no indication that money is missing — just issues with how the city recorded and reported certain grants.
“This is just about how we have accounted for some things in the past. And there’s an accounting interpretation that’s in play that I’ll be happy to explain once I understand it better," Mcnees said.
The city plans to discuss the audit further at a meeting on Monday, July 14.
