Following Kriseman move, St. Petersburg City Council advances lower threshold for oversight
The new measure would lower the threshold to $75,000, down from $100,000. Last month, the mayor initiated a contract at $99,000.
Â
Updated 3 minutes ago
ST. PETERSBURG â City Council members advanced a measure on Thursday that would lower the contract threshold for Council approval to $75,000, down from $100,000.
The measure, which moved through the Budget, Finance and Taxation committee, was pushed by Council Chair Ed Montanari in reaction to Mayor Rick Kriseman hiring a consultant, without Council approval, to help with the Tropicana Field redevelopment.
Since January, Kriseman had been interested in hiring real estate and economic development consultants HR&A Advisors to help the city evaluate the Trop proposals it received from developers. At the time, the contract was valued at $180,000, and therefore required City Council approval.
St Petersburg City Council member Robert Blackmon resigns tampabay.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tampabay.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Robert Blackmon to resign from St. Pete City Council, signaling likely mayoral bid
St. Petersburg City Council Member
Robert
Blackmon submitted a letter of resignation, effective January 6, according to city records.
The resignation likely means Blackmon intends to run for Mayor, a rumor that has been brewing for months. However, Blackmon has not officially filed for the seat as of Monday morning.
“It has been an honor to serve as City Council member from District 1,” Blackmon wrote. “Pursuant to Florida Statute 99.012(2) & (3), I hereby tender my resignation from the Saint Petersburg City Council effective January 5, 2022, at 11:59 p.m.”
That statute
states that “no person may qualify as a candidate for more than one public office, whether federal, state, district, county, or municipal, if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently with each other.”
Accusations of unprofessionalism fly at St. Petersburg City Council
Council member and possible mayoral candidate Robert Blackmon traded barbs with senior city staffers.
Â
Â
St. Petersburg Council member Robert Blackmon, right, traded barbs with senior city staffers, including Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin, center. Mayor Rick Kriseman, left, called Blackmon s behavior unbecoming. [ DIRK SHADD | Tampa Bay Times ]
Updated 3 hours ago
ST. PETERSBURG â The item on Thursdayâs City Council agenda was billed as a quick update on a defaulted development project on city-owned land. But in the latest demonstration of the fractured relationship between Council member Robert Blackmon and Mayor Rick Krisemanâs administration, the discussion devolved into accusations of unprofessionalism and ended with other Council members lamenting the erosion of decorum and pleading for composure.