FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – The City of Fernandina Beach needs a new city attorney.
Commissioners voted to fire Tammi Bach at the end of a meeting on Tuesday night.
This is not the first time something like this has happened there.
Almost two years ago, commissioners voted to terminate former city manager Dale Martin.
This time around, commissioner Tim Poynter made the motion to fire Bach, citing his lack of confidence and trust in her.
“It is not a personal thing,” Poynter said. “It is what I believe is in the best interest of the community. I think the community and the city would do well to change and get the politics out of the legal department. That is why I am making this motion. As painful as it is, and I understand exactly where you are coming from, vice mayor, I do. I have been through this several times. Several city managers, the same kind of deal.”
Bach is the longest-serving charter officer and the highest-paid city employee. She became city attorney in November 2007. Bach did not address the commission before the vote.
Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue was the only person to vote against the move. He said he did not agree with how Martin’s case was handled in 2023 and feels the same way about Bach’s situation now.
“It was a mistake then the way we did it and this is an absolute mistake now,” Ayscue said. “We did not even learn less than two years ago how to properly handle our charter officers and their employment.”
Martin was terminated in a similar way in February 2023 after former commissioner David Sturges said he had a “laundry list of reasons” why he believed Martin should be fired.
The decision to fire Bach leaves the city without an attorney while in the middle of several legal battles.
According to the Fernandina Observer, one of those issues involves the city’s negotiation of a settlement with lease holders of Brett’s Waterway Cafe.
The case is over damages, including lost revenues after the city declared a part of the building was unsafe.
The Fernandina Observer says Bach told the commission in August 2024 that the city was partly at fault in the situation.
Bach will be on administrative leave for 30 days before she is officially terminated.