The typical tedium of city budget workshops — tax rates, funding formulas and the price of paving projects — got a bit belligerent last month during a back-and-forth between the city manager and a commissioner.
A long-simmering tension between commissioner Sam Kaufman and City Manager Brian L. Barroso has become familiar to observers of city meetings. That tension boiled over at the July 22 budget workshop, when Kaufman implied that Barroso had requested a 20% salary increase and that the commission would have to choose between funding the salary increase — from $230,000 to $275,000 — or youth sports programs.
“I’m not sure if the city manager’s contract calls for a mid-year salary increase, but I think, regardless, the best practice would be to have a performance review before any salary increase, especially one as large as this,” Kaufman said during the budget workshop discussion. “Why add to our tax burden or take money away from youth sports leagues to fund the salary increase of the city manager?”
The comments by Kaufman, who had dominated discussions throughout the meeting, occasionally frustrating some of his fellow commissioners, prompted an angry response from Barroso.
“For you to draw a parallel with my salary coming out of youth league funds is inappropriate,” he told Kaufman. “It could come out of any of the things you’ve asked for to be included in the budget. To draw a parallel to youth leagues is unprofessional, sir, and you know what? We’re tired of it. We’re tired of the manner in which you continue to behave. It’s not OK. You create false narratives out there and it’s not all right. My salary has nothing to do with the youth leagues. You don’t want to increase taxes, but you’re sitting over there telling me to hire people and increase funding for any number of things, and yet you sit there and say you don’t want to increase taxes. So then I ask you where you want the money to come from and you don’t have an answer. So don’t create these false narratives. It’s unfair.”
Kaufman then defended himself, telling Barroso, “There’s nothing unprofessional about asking for a performance review before a salary increase. I respectfully disagree with your comments and would hope you wouldn’t personalize this. It’s not personal for me and to call me out the way that you just did, I would hope that you would consider not doing that in the future. I would very much appreciate that.”
Barroso had one final response to Kaufman before the discussion returned to the budget.
“So we disagree; that’s clear. But you call me out pretty much every meeting, sir. So treat others how you would like to be treated. You can give me a performance evaluation any time. I’m pretty aware of what yours is going to be of me.”
Barroso later clarified to the Keys Weekly that he had never requested a salary increase, but had, in fact, requested a performance review immediately, as he has been on the job for six months.
Barroso’s contract calls for an initial salary of $215,000 and an increase to $230,000 after six months on the job. The contract also states that he can negotiate for a salary increase after a year. And as the current budget discussions are for fiscal year 2026, nothing would happen until next year and any increase would require commission approval.
Barroso reiterated his frustration with Kaufman’s statements during the Aug. 6 regular city commission meeting.
“I had asked for a six-month performance evaluation and I want your feedback, each of you, to help me understand what I can do,” Barroso told the commission this week. “But just for clarity due to the misinformation being circulated by a particular commissioner, there has been no request for a salary increase. I did not ask for a salary increase and it’s unprofessional for a commissioner to keep repeating that.”
Commissioner Lissette Carey then came to Barroso’s defense, thanking him for requesting the evaluation and pointing out, “I had requested the same thing from the prior city manager but never received it. I think we’re in a better place now than we were before you got here.”
Carey was referring to the prior city manager, Al Childress, whose contentious firing helped set off the firestorm of indictments and investigations into corruption at city hall.
Barroso was not employed by the city at the time any of the accusations occurred and was not even living in Key West. When he was hired as city manager, the city was in the throes of an upheaval that Barroso was tasked with managing.
But what about the budget?
City officials are considering a 4% to 7% property tax increase for the coming fiscal year. The final tax rate will be determined and voted on in September after two public budget hearings.
The tax increase would affect commercial property owners and owners of non-homesteaded residential properties the most. Owners with a homestead exemption would see almost no change in their city tax bill, while non-homesteaded properties valued at $910,000 would see an increase of about $68 per year or $5.70 per month.
