Dispute over West Melbourne Mayor Rose's residency escalates, with City Council divided

There is no doubt that Hal Rose is the mayor of West Melbourne. Whether he actually lives in the city is a whole other matter.

Two members of the West Melbourne City Council say they are working separately to gather evidence in an attempt to prove Rose does not live in West Melbourne and should not be allowed to remain in office.

Rose bought a home in a 55+ community in Viera in May and sold his home in West Melbourne in July.

But Rose insists he also is maintaining a residence in West Melbourne, through a lease involving different home in Woodfield at Heritage Oaks, and he should be allowed to stay in office until the end of his current four-year term in November 2024.

He says he just wants to continue serving the city, and financial motivations are not a factor, because the job pays a relatively small salary of $12,353 a year, and his retirement benefits would not be affected by the extra time in office. One council member alleges that Rose is trying to hold onto his city medical insurance coverage for as long as possible.

According to the West Melbourne City Charter, the mayor and other members of the City Council "shall have been residents of the city for at least one year prior to the date of qualification for office, shall continue to reside in the city during their entire term of office and shall have the qualifications of a city elector." But the charter does not specifically define residency.

A majority of the City Council, meanwhile, directed City Attorney John Cary to draft an ordinance to better define the term "residency" in relation to elected city officials. But, as part of that direction, they indicated that any new definition of residency would not take effect until after Rose's current term ends in November 2024. Cary said he could have something ready for the City Council to consider in October.

Cary said City Council members are the ones who determine whether a West Melbourne elected official meets residency requirements.

City Council Member John Dittmore said he believes the ambiguity of the residency requirement is a loophole in the City Charter that Rose is trying to take advantage of, "and what I want to do is close that loophole."

Two of the seven members of the City Council ― Dittmore and Stephen Phrampus ― say they will be gathering evidence to prove Rose no longer lives in the city. Both have law enforcement backgrounds.

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Dittmore said he plans to move forward with his evidence-gathering, through subpoena powers granted City Council members in the City Charter. In addition to driver license and voter registration information, Dittmore said he is looking for such things as water use records for the West Melbourne and Viera residences in question, as well as records of the dates and times Rose's vehicle was tracked as entering the Woodfield at Heritage Oaks and Bridgewater at Viera gated communities.

"This is not about me trying to remove him" from office, Dittmore told fellow council members at the Aug. 15 City Council meeting. "This is about us following the law."

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Dittmore said he considers Rose a mentor who "brought me into politics."

Still, Dittmore said if Rose lives primarily in Viera, yet is allowed to continue to service as mayor, it would set a bad precedent in relation to future candidates for elected office in West Melbourne. Dittmore also believes Rose has not been fully transparent about his residency change, and questions whether a lease Rose signed for his new West Melbourne residence complies with homeowners' association rules, because it involved renting only part of the house, not the full house.

Separately, Phrampus ― who also is the city's current deputy mayor ― said he will be requesting various documents through the city attorney's office related to Rose's residency, contending that "it appears he lives in Viera."

Phrampus said he is not happy that the new definition of residency that the City Council requested from Cary would not take effect until after Rose's term ends.

"If we have a problem, we have to take care of that problem, not cater to one person," Phrampus said.

Once Phrampus gathers his evidence, he said he plans to request a special meeting of the City Council to discuss his findings and seek a vote on removing Rose from office. If he can't get a special meeting underway, Phrampus said, he will bring it up at a regular City Council meeting.

"What's the harm in hearing the facts, unless you are scared to vote on it?" Phrampus said.

Phrampus said he also is concerned that some members of the City Council who insist that Rose should be able to stay in office appear to have made up their minds before all the evidence is in.

Dittmore says one piece of evidence he believes helps prove his case that Rose may not be living in West Melbourne is a document received through the subpoena process from the Bridgewater at Viera community. One question on the document, signed by Rose, asks: "Do you live at Bridgewater full-time?" The "yes" box is checked.

Rose said he checked yes to indicate that he did not want his mail and packages received at the Viera address to be forwarded elsewhere.

"This is just a political attack," said Rose, who has been West Melbourne mayor since 2007, and before that was a member of the West Melbourne City Council, starting in 2000.

Rose noted Dittmore and Phrampus are seeking higher office in 2024, as are two other City Council members. Dittmore is seeking a seat on the Brevard County Commission in District 3, running as a Republican for the seat now held by Republican John Tobia, who cannot seek reelection because of term limits and is running instead for Brevard County supervisor of elections. Phrampus and Andrea Young are candidates for West Melbourne mayor, a nonpartisan office. Daniel McDow is running as a Democrat for U.S. Congress for the District 8 seat now held by Republican Bill Posey, who is seeking reelection.

What's the motive?

I'm a uniter, not a divider," Rose said. "I plan on finishing my term and keep moving the city in the right direction. I would like to do what's best for the city. I have no plans to run for reelection."

Rose says he has no financial motive for remaining mayor of Brevard County's fourth-most-populous city through the end of his term, rather than retiring or resigning in the middle of the term.

He said that, because he has more than 20 years in office, including his time as a City Council member, his city's retirement benefits would not increase by remaining mayor another year. He said he will get 50% of his pay as a retirement benefit.

"The little money we make as elected officials doesn't justify staying in office" just for the paycheck, Rose said.

Also, Rose, who is 69, said he already is eligible to apply for Medicare benefits, which he plans to switch to from his current city medical insurance plan when his term as mayor ends.

But Dittmore noted that the city's medical insurance benefits are attractive, and Rose may want to stay in the city's plan as long as possible.

Young said she is in favor of keeping Rose as mayor through the end of his term in 2024.

"I feel that, on paper, he has fulfilled those requirements" contained in the charter, Young said. "The charter is not really clear on what 'residency' really is."

Young noted that a former City Council member, Mike Hazlett, remained on the council to finish his term in 2012, attending meetings by phone, after business commitments had him outside Florida, while maintaining a residence in West Melbourne.

If there is a vacancy in the mayor's office, the City Council would vote on naming one of the council members as mayor until the end of the term in November 2024, then would seek applications from the public to fill the ensuing vacancy on the City Council.

Phrampus said, if there was a vacancy, he would seek to become mayor, because he already is running for the position in 2024. But he added that he would not try to run for a number of terms as mayor, saying: "I'm not looking to be a 20-year man."

Dittmore said he would not seek to fill a vacancy as mayor and would not nominate any council member for the position who was a candidate for another office in November 2024.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: West Melbourne mayor's residency, right to stay in office questioned