The Riviera Beach City Council voted on May 6 to approve a $186,000 separation settlement to immediately end the tenure of Jonathan Evans, the seemingly always-embattled city manager who nonetheless became synonymous with the explosive growth the city is experiencing.
The separation agreement — approved on a 4-1 vote with Councilman Bruce Guyton casting the lone vote in opposition — pays Evans the $75,467.81 he would have earned if he had stayed on the job until his contract ends on July 13. It also includes $10,728.89 for unused paid time off and a mutual non-disparagement clause. But the biggest chunk of the money going to Evans is a $100,000 payment to bar the former city manager for suing the city, which he argued violated his rights under a trio of federal and state laws, including the Florida Public Safety Whistleblower Act and the Florida Sunshine Law.
Riviera Beach, which delayed much-needed infrastructure improvements in part because of a lack of funding and where 18% of residents live below the poverty line, has now agreed to shell out a combined $376,197 to settle or stave off lawsuits from Evans. In 2019, the city agreed to pay Evans $190,000 to settle a lawsuit he filed in 2017, when he was fired by a previous city council only six months after he had been hired.
The toll of the topsy-turvy tenure on Evans was clear during the council’s May 6 meeting, when the normally stoic and technocratic city manager laid bare his feelings about his treatment. His lawyer had hammered out a separation agreement with the city attorney that called for him to be paid almost $200,000, but Guyton, who led the charge to end his tenure, pushed for a much smaller payout that did not include the $100,000 payment.
“I would ask the board if you would please reconsider what was the original proposal,” Evans said. “These particular positions, especially when your name and your character is impugned and your reputation is hurt, it is hard to get these particular types of positions because you have to have the trust, the respect, of an elected body that is entrusting you with the responsibility to move this city forward.”
He added: “For seven years, I didn’t help facilitate controversy and chaos from this particular position. Every challenge, every issue, every circumstance, I believe that I at least met the moment.”
Councilwoman KaShamba Miller-Anderson, who credits Evans for spurring the growth taking place in the city, went further in describing what the city manager endured.
“I told you some time ago I don’t know how you stayed here this long because, between separate council members cursing you out, accosting you, threatening you, all sorts of things, I don’t know how you stayed that long. But I appreciate you, and the residents definitely appreciate you because the work that you put in was very evident.”
Evans’ tenure ends on mixed note
Later, after much back and forth on what would and would not be in the separation agreement, the city council voted to approve it, immediately ending Evans’ tenure. Then, another Evans supporter on the council, Shirley Lanier, read an official city proclamation of appreciation for his professionalism and for his accomplishments.
Council members usually pose for a picture next to those it honors with proclamations, but Lanier had to exhort her colleagues to join her next to Evans. Guyton was the last to join, standing on an end only after someone coud be heard reminding him that he was a city council member.
Evans was then given another opportunity to speak. He recalled the period in 2017 when he was fired after six months on the job. Residents rallied to his side.
“They would call me,” he said. “They would send me birthday cards. They would check on me. For months after my stint here, they still cared about me as a person.”
Evans said that he returned for more than professional reasons.
“I came back not for the opportunity,” he said. “I came back for the friendships and the bonds and the relationships I had with persons here in this community.”
Evans’ farewells and advice
Evans addressed his family, pausing occasionally to maintain his composure.
“To my family, to my daughter, to my wife and to the boys, every night, despite what was on my plate, they supported me. They would go upstairs, let me answer emails. They would make sure there was a cold, sparkling water in the fridge. I love you guys and thank you for your support. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
Depiste the challenges he faced, Evans said: “There will never be another Riviera Beach for me. It will always be the best job I ever had my entire life.”
The former city manager had a message, too, for his successor.
“For the next person that has the opportunity to serve, godspeed and God bless you,” he said, before offering a smile. “I left Advil and Excedrin in my office and some small, multi-denominational little Jesuses ’cause you’re gonna need ’em. But if I can do anything, I’m a phone call away because this place has a special place in my heart.”
As Evans spoke, one of his predecessor, Bill Wilkins, was in the audience. The council voted to have Wilkins step in as temporary city manager for no more than four months. He would be paid $83,333, a four-month share of a salary of $250,000.
It is the third stint for Wilkins in the job. He was fired in 1987 and, after an Evans-like return, he resigned in 2008 after being placed on paid leave.
“I know what the city manager’s going through,” he said.
Jonathan Evans’ tenure as city manager in Riviera Beach
March 2017: Riviera Beach hires Evans, who had worked as an assistant county administrator in Sarasota County and as city manager in Haines City.
September 2017: Riviera Beach fires Evans with little public explanation
May 2019: Riviera Beach re-hires Evans, with whom it had also reached a $190,000 settlement.
September 2024: Riviera Beach Mayor Ronnie Felder suspends Evans for 10 days without pay after the then-mayor said employees complained of a hostile work environment and fear of retaliation.
April 2026: City Councilman Bruce Guyton leads a successful effort to end Evans’ tenure as city manager, citing, in part, some of the employee issues Felder identified.
May 6, 2026: The Riviera Beach City Council votes to approve a separation agreement formally ending Evans’ tenure as city manager.
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education and Riviera Beach development for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Riviera Beach pays outgoing city manager almost $190K to leave early
Reporting by Wayne Washington, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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