Anand emphasizes municipal experience, commits to five-year tenure in Sebastian city attorney interview

Manny Anand, an attorney who previously served as Sebastian’s city attorney, told the City of Sebastian council on the record that his mix of municipal experience and military service would let him “hit the ground running” if appointed to the city attorney post.

Anand opened by summarizing decades of public-sector work and said he had been “clerking since my first year of law school,” later serving in municipal legal roles including a recent stint as Sebastian’s city attorney. He described experience in contract law, labor and employment, land-use matters, public records and Sunshine Law issues and highlighted more than 22 years of military service, including deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and Doha and retirement at the rank of lieutenant colonel on 06/10/2021.

Council members pressed Anand on longevity after private interviews; Council member Dodd reported Anand told him he would serve “a minimum of 5 years,” a point Anand reiterated to the full body. Anand also described operational changes he said he would pursue, including monthly meetings with the city manager and key departments such as police and community development to provide more proactive legal support.

On keeping current with legal developments, Anand cited Florida Bar continuing-education resources, Westlaw access and materials from the Florida League of Cities. When asked about hiring outside counsel, he said he would bring such requests to the council and recommended financial safeguards, saying he would propose fee caps — “only $20,000 and then beyond that, I gotta come back to you again” — and disclosure for conflict situations.

The workshop did not include a hiring vote. After two candidate interviews and brief technical and procedural discussion, the council adjourned the session.