Florida City Commission grants Nicholas Mimms paid administrative leave

The Fort Pierce City Council placed City Manager Nick Mimms on leave with pay on Thursday, a day after he was arrested and charged with tampering with a bidding process and abuse of office. The decision came at a special meeting the city council called after Mimms' arrest. The meeting began with commissioners trying to reassure citizens. “The city will be open today, tomorrow and any other day we deem necessary to conduct the business of the city of Fort Pierce,” Commissioner Curtis Johnson said. They then began discussing how to conduct those businesses without Mimms. Mimms was arrested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and accused of tampering with a bidding process so that a nonprofit founded by his niece would receive special treatment. Commissioners voted unanimously to place Mimms on leave with full pay and benefits. “A hasty judgement at this point is not unfair, it's unwise,” said Commissioner Michael Broderick. “We need to let this play out through the justice system.” Commissioners also voted unanimously to not only hire an outside agency to investigate the incidents, but they also insisted that the outside agency must have no ties to anything related to Fort Pierce. “Right now, we need more transparency in this investigation than ever before,” said Commissioner Arnold Gaines. “We need to conduct our investigation,” said Commissioner Jeremiah Johnson. “We need to follow the policies, rules and procedures that have been established.” Finally, a unanimous vote was taken to appoint City Clerk Linda Cox as acting city manager. “I'm offering that to make this transition as smooth as possible,” said Mayor Linda Hudson. The city's two assistant city managers will also be asked to take on more duties. Mimms' bail was set at $10,000 and he was released from jail on Wednesday. This story is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available. Top Headlines: Stay Up to Date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25 Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.

FORT PIERCE, Fla. —

He was arrested a day earlier and charged with bid rigging and abuse of office. The Fort Pierce City Council placed City Manager Nick Mimms on administrative leave on Thursday, retaining his salary.

The decision was made at a special meeting called by the city after Mimm's arrest.

The meeting began with the commissioners trying to reassure the citizens.

“The city will be open today, tomorrow and any other day we deem necessary to conduct the business of the City of Fort Pierce,” said Commissioner Curtis Johnson.

Then they began to discuss how the business could be run without Mimms.

Mimms was arrested by Florida State Law Enforcement on charges of rigging a bidding process to give special treatment to a nonprofit organization founded by his niece.

Commission members voted unanimously to grant Mimms leave with full pay and benefits.

“A hasty judgement at this point is not unfair, it is unwise,” said Commissioner Michael Broderick. “We have to let this matter go through the justice system.”

The commissioners also voted unanimously to not only hire an outside agency to investigate the incidents, but also insisted that the outside agency have no ties to anything related to Fort Pierce.

“Right now we need more transparency in this investigation than ever before,” said Commissioner Arnold Gaines.

“We have to conduct our investigations,” said Commissioner Jeremiah Johnson. “We have to follow the established policies, rules and procedures.”

Finally, they unanimously decided to appoint City Clerk Linda Cox as acting city manager.

“I’m offering this as an opportunity to make this transition as smooth as possible,” said Mayor Linda Hudson.

The city's two deputy city managers will also be asked to take on more responsibility.

Mimms' bail was set at $10,000 and he was released from jail on Wednesday.

This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.

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