Mayor, City Manager Clash Over Access to Staff and Information

Who controls access inside Key West City Hall?

It’s a question now sitting at the center of the increasingly strained relationship between newly elected Mayor Sam Kaufman and City Manager Brian Barroso.

In a statement provided to members of the press this past week, including Palm and Prejudice, Kaufman said that on August 27, 2026, a few days after he was sworn in, he received an email from the City Manager informing the Mayor’s Office that permission from the City Manager’s Office was first required before Kaufman or the Mayor’s assistant met with City staff.

In a document provided to members of the press this past week, including Palm and Prejudice, Mayor Sam Kaufman said that on August 27, 2026, days after he was sworn in, he received an email from the City Manager informing the Mayor’s Office that permission from the City Manager’s Office was first required before Kaufman or the Mayor’s assistant met with City staff.

As Kaufman wrote, it was not a requirement he believed had been imposed upon his predecessor, Mayor Danise “DeeDee” Henriquez.

"I do not know whether it has been imposed upon other current commissioners," he wrote adding that during his time as a City Commissioner from 2015 through 2025, no previous City Manager imposed such a requirement upon him.

"The basis and authority for this restriction, who it applies to, and whether it has been applied consistently should be determined."

Kaufman then described another incident during a recent budget review meeting with the City Manager and senior staff.

During that meeting, Senior Director of Finance Christina Bervaldi offered more than once to provide Kaufman with written materials responsive to questions he was asking. But, according to Kaufman’s recollection, that was shot down.

"I personally heard the City Manager respond that he had instructed her not to send those materials to me," Kaufman wrote.

"Whether information responsive to requests from elected officials has been withheld, under what circumstances, and pursuant to what authority or policy should be reviewed."

Bervaldi did not respond to a request seeking confirmation of Kaufman’s account. Barroso has also not responded to multiple requests for comment.

These were just two of several events outlined by Kaufman, who argues that, taken collectively, they raise questions about the accuracy of information provided to the Commission and the level of access elected officials have to City employees and information.

The mayor is now asking for an outside investigation that would include directives governing elected officials’ access to employees and City information.

But Key West’s form of government complicates where that line is drawn.

City Attorney Mayanne Downs described the city’s “weak mayor” system as one in which policymaking authority rests with the mayor and commission, while the City Manager controls employees and city operations.

Asked specifically about the difference between an elected official accessing City staff and directing them, Downs said there may be only a “thin distinction (if any)” between the two, while cautioning that she was not offering a definitive legal opinion on the specific dispute.

Newly elected District V City Commissioner Chris Massicotte, who holds a master’s degree in government administration, concurred with Downs’ broader description.

"The City Manager has broad authority over staff outside of charter employees," he said.

"Each City Manager has had their own style. Mr Barroso has a policy that we are not permitted to direct staff or contact staff without cc’ing him. And that is his right according to our charter."

Massicotte, however, has asked to place a discussion item on the October agenda about the referendum on the ballot to extend the mayors term and to discuss Key West's form of government.

Kaufman, meanwhile, says he chose to release the information only after previously being advised by the City Attorney that Barroso was willing to consider a “separation agreement.”

"I believed the responsible course was to allow a reasonable period for that possibility to be explored rather than publicly escalating the situation."

No separation agreement has since been reached.

Kaufman maintains that the restrictions interfere with the Mayor’s Office’s ability to do the work of representing Key West residents and businesses. He said none of the previous City Managers he worked with required him to first obtain permission before meeting with City staff.

The question now may be less about whether the City Manager has broad authority over City employees and more about where that authority ends and an elected mayor’s access to people and information begins.