Palm Coast, FL – During the June 1, 2021 evening business meeting of the Palm Coast City Council, council members unanimously agreed to appoint Denise Bevan, the current Palm Coast Chief of Staff over Infrastructure, as the interim City Manager following the resignation of current City Manager Matthew Morton on May 27th.
During the council meeting, members of council asked Palm Coast Fire Chief Jerry Forte for his input on the appointment of Denise Bevan to the interim position. Forte told council that “When you start looking at the chain of command and who is going to be the next in line, you want somebody that is going to be understanding and have a good ability to work with everybody in the organization and I think what we need now is some calm, some stability, and the ability to take what we’ve got and move forward.” He continued by saying, “When you start considering is Denise Bevan qualified, she is and she is a gap-bridger.”
Acting Mayor Eddie Branquinho then asked Bevan to speak directly on the matter of appointing her to interim City Manager. Bevan said, “I’m here to serve the City of Palm Coast in any capacity necessary. I would ask to better understand the terms and to work with each council member and our amazing team on what that looks like. With that, thank you and yes.”
The appointment of Bevan will waive current City Manager Morton’s 30-day contractually obligated resignation period. Morton will remain the City Manager until Bevan’s contract as interim City Manager is finalized, which could be completed as soon as the end of the week.
The City Council meeting is its entirety can be viewed on the City’s website.
Media Release: City of Palm Coast
