BRADENTON BEACH – Ricinda Perry’s 21-year tenure as Bradenton Beach city attorney came to an end on Sept. 18 when she announced her immediate retirement at a city commission meeting.
She made the announcement two days after city commissioners met to evaluate her performance following allegations that she had named Drift-In owner Derek Williams as the source of a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) complaint against a neighboring business, the Anna Maria Oyster Bar (AMOB).
In response to Williams’ public records request, FDEP confirmed that no complaint had been filed, which triggered the Sept. 16 work meeting. At that meeting, the commission granted Perry’s request to allow her more time to respond to the allegations.
Instead, Perry made the Sept. 18 retirement announcement as she read, sometimes tearfully, from a prepared statement which was titled,” A letter to my Bradenton Beach family.”
Perry stated she had planned to retire at the end of 2024 after selling her home and moving out of state, but when Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck, she put those plans on hold.
“Now in my 21st year of service and, with our community well on their way to recovery, as we mark the one-year anniversary of Helene next week, it’s time for me to finally retire and say goodbye to my role as your city attorney,” she said. “Writing these words is harder than I imagined, because Bradenton Beach has been more than just a place I’ve worked. It has been my family, my teacher, my calling and the source of friendships and stories that I will carry forever.”
Perry said her decision to retire was based on wanting to spend time with her husband and daughter in South Carolina.
“For the past year, I have spent too many days and months here in Florida rather than with my family,” she said. “My daughter is now one quarter of the way through her second year in her new school with me away yet again because I am serving here.”
Perry said her family has made sacrifices for the city.
“This is lost time – moments of my daughter growing up, moments with my loved ones – that I can never get back. For me this has been the greatest sacrifice of all,” she said. “My family has carried on without me so that I could be present for you and that is lost time that I can never recover.”
“It is now time for me to pour into my home life. To sit at my own table, not a city hall dais,” she said. “To watch my daughter grow up in person, not through a phone screen, to make memories with my husband that cannot be postponed or replaced.”
She thanked city staff, commissioners and city leadership.
“While the fabric of our community is woven by its people, it is our staff within these walls who hold it together day after day,” she said.
“To my commissioners, past and present, your service is the hardest and most thankless role in government,” Perry said. “For little recognition and only a modest stipend, you shoulder the hopes, frustrations and daily realities of this city.”
Transition
“Over the past year, I have worked diligently to prepare for and support a smooth transition,” Perry said. “I am fully aware of discussions that have taken place, and I recognized that some have expressed a desire for new leadership in the role of city attorney.”
“My commitment has always been, and remains, to serve the best interest of this city and its elected officials,” she said. “If my final act of service is to step aside in a manner that allows for peace and continuity, I do so with a sense of fulfillment and contentment in that decision.”
She said for the past six months, the commission has allowed her to transition half of her legal work to attorney Robert Lincoln, whom she characterized as an “outstanding attorney.”
“I am confident as I retire, the city is in his capable hands and he will continue to provide for the needs of this community,” Perry said. “Thank you, Bradenton Beach commissioners, for trusting me, for challenging me and for letting me part of your story.”
Perry said she has been working on her retirement plan for a long time and presented three binders containing details of ongoing projects and records.
“The last thing I want to do is put you in the lurch where you don’t have the documents with everything that I’ve been working on,” she said.
Perry said she will be leaving the city but if there is anything else that’s needed, she will be willing to provide it.
“We’re a small group, we work hard and 21 years, it’s hard to make sure everyone has everything,” she said. “I’m sorry and I thank you for everything.”
Perry then asked to be dismissed from the meeting.
“Thank you,” Chappie said as she left. “You will be missed.”
“We’ll be talking with Robert Lincoln as filling in as an interim at this point,” Chappie said. “See what his thoughts are. He’s already under contract and it would just be a matter of seeing if he’s willing to expand his scope of services. We’ve already talked to him a little bit.”
Chappie said a special meeting would likely be called and the city would put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a permanent replacement.
“We’ll be doing that as quickly as possible,” he said. “That’s all I have to say on that.”
