SURFSIDE, FLA. (WSVN) - Some Surfside residents voiced their concerns and pointed fingers during a sometimes heated town hall meeting held weeks after several town leaders suddenly resigned.
Video from Tuesday night’s meeting captured Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger asking Commissioner Nelly Velasquez to remain civil.
“Commissioner Velasquez, can you please follow our rules?” he said.
Residents did not mince words when addressing commissioners.
“Your rules are stupid, you stifle public content,” said a resident. “You stifle public comment every single time.”
Things also got testy between Velasquez and Danzinger, including a moment when former Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett was addressing the commission.
“Excuse me, can I say something please?” said Velasquez.
“You cannot. You are not recognized right now,” said Danzinger.
“Of course you’re not going to recognize me, because you know I’m going to come out to defend him,” said Velasquez.
“Commissioner, you are out of order. You are out of order,” said Danzinger. “You know what that is, right?”
The accusations revolved around three now former employees: Town Manager Andrew Hyatt, Police Chief Rogelio Torres and Assistant Town Manager Jason Greene.
Some residents accused Danzinger of forcing them to resign back in December.
“You’ve deceived us from day one. Let’s talk about the firing of the police chief,” said a resident. “Three people don’t resign in 20 hours unless they were told to resign. You fired those three professional people for a reason that we’re not told yet, because I’ve been told it’s what happens behind closed doors.”
Velasquez echoed the resident’s remarks when she addressed the mayor.
“I had a meeting with the town manager 10 minutes prior to the mayor having a meeting with him, and he never mentioned to me one single moment that he was going to resign,” she said. “You are out of order when you lied to all of us on this dais. That’s out of order.”
Burkett also joined the chorus of accusations.
“The mayor’s meeting to determine or to demand that the town manager resign minutes before his annual review is disrespectful and unprofessional,” he said.
Burkett expanded on his comments outside Surfside Town Hall.
“It’s not about employees leaving; it’s about employees being forced out with a ‘Sopranos’-style sort of method of business,” he said.
Officials with Surfside and Danzinger’s office did not immediately respond to 7News’ requests for comment.
Copyright 2023 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.