🏛️ Crestview council votes 3–2 to keep City Clerk Maryanne Girard under extended review
📄 Motion to terminate fails after debate over leadership and records handling
🔍 New benchmarks and oversight set for November performance evaluation
CRESTVIEW — The Crestview City Council voted Monday night to extend City Clerk Maryanne Girard’s performance improvement plan (PIP) after a tense discussion about her leadership, communication, and management of public records.
A motion to terminate her employment failed on a 2–3 vote.
Mayor J.B. Whitten led the meeting, which began with Girard outlining her accomplishments over the past 90 days. She detailed professional development courses in Florida ethics and Sunshine Law compliance, new recordkeeping procedures and improvements to the city’s document workflow.
Girard also highlighted her appointment as Northwest Florida Regional Director for the Florida Association of City Clerks and her mentorship of deputy staff.
Despite those achievements, several council members continued to voice concerns about her performance.
Mayor Pro Tem Doug Capps said he still lacked confidence in Girard’s leadership, citing “deflection versus ownership” and a “lack of coordination with other departments.” He noted that, while Girard was out of the country, her deputy could not access key city email accounts, resulting in administrative disruptions.
“The clerk’s office still needs to run,” Capps said.
Councilmember Ryan Bullard agreed, arguing that the city needed “executive-level results from an executive-level employee.” He criticized Girard for not following up after previous discussions about the city’s records management software and communication protocols, saying that leadership required greater initiative.
Bullard ultimately moved to terminate her contract.
Other members defended Girard’s performance. Councilmember Shannon Hayes praised her training efforts and improvements to public records processing. Councilmember Brandon Frost said she had taken appropriate steps to resolve Sunshine Law and records-request issues.
Councilmember Dusty Allison questioned whether the city had provided Girard with measurable standards for success and urged fairness before making a termination decision.
City Attorney Jonathan Holloway reminded the council that the clerk serves “at the pleasure of the council” without a fixed-term contract. The motion to terminate failed, with Bullard and Capps voting for her termination and Frost, Allison, and Hayes opposing it.
After the vote, Allison proposed extending Girard’s performance plan with clearer, measurable expectations, a motion that passed unanimously.
City Manager Jessica Leavins recommended that each council member meet individually with the city’s human resources manager to define benchmarks for improvement. The revised plan will guide Girard’s following formal review, expected in November.
The decision capped a months-long process of scrutiny that began when Girard was placed on a PIP amid complaints about office communication, responsiveness to records requests, and interpersonal conflicts with staff.
While some officials said those issues showed progress, others argued that improvements fell short of the city’s leadership standards.
The council agreed to continue regular check-ins and clarified that future evaluations must be based on measurable outcomes rather than differing personal expectations.
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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