DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Amid calls for his immediate ouster, the Volusia County Council voted on Tuesday morning to relieve Jim Dinneen, the county manager, of his duties.

Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood and others wanted Dinneen to resign immediately, even though he already announced he would be retiring in January of 2019.  

And apparently, the sheriff is not the only one who wants to see the county manager to go. Just about every law enforcement agency and top public safety official has expressed in some shape or form that they would like Dinneen to step down immediately.  

In a letter that was sent to Dinneen, several law enforcement agencies stated their grievances with the county manager who they say has continuously cut funding for public safety. 

Now, the council voted 6 to 1 to relieve Dinneen of his duties.

 

And before the meeting, on Tuesday morning people were seen protesting, chanting for the firing of Dinneen.

Kylie King and Jaedin Pittman were among the group.

Last month their friend Justis Garrett was found murdered. They blame outgoing Volusia county manager Jim Dinneen's failed leadership for her sitting at the morgue unidentified.

"It’s very important that we fire him and get the right things going so we can catch (Garrett’s) killer," said Jaedin Pittman, friend of Garrett.

The investigation into the Medical Examiner's office is just one of the firestorms of criticism surrounding Dinneen's 12.5 year tenure people spoke out about Tuesday.

Public safety officials say they have not been getting to properly fund their operations.

"This is the tip of the iceberg with the way he ran this administration. He's gone. I wish him all the luck in the world, and now we need to move on," said Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

These agencies blame Dinneen for not being able to filled vacant positions and the letter also claimed the county is not meeting standards for the fire department. 

A retired officer who says this puts the public at risk. 

"You're playing with people's lives and that's despicable and reprehensible people need to stand up and demand action," said Gary Conroy of the Waterman's Association.  

Plus frustrations grew louder over thousands of dollars spent on an impact fee study, which helps push developers for more growth within the county -- it was never shown to the county council. 

"He failed, he failed in his obligation and his duty," said one member of the community from the podium.

In a letter last week, he said he is ending his nearly 12-year tenure because the county budget is balanced and the county has no debt, so it is time for him to leave.  

However, safety officials wanted him to go immediately.

Some said he did enough to be terminated. Heather Post who represents District 4 voted against the motion to alllow Dinneen to walk away with his salary and retirement.

"I would hope that the whole council together would look for an assessment and a reevaluation of all the county departments, and that they will actually talk to the employees and find out where the leadership should be going from here and how we can address many issues that are coming to light," Post said.

Dinneen was also criticized for his $250k salary.

A 2015 list of county managers’ salaries in Florida shows counties with about the same population as Volusia, paid their city manager $180k to a little over $200k. In 2015, Dinneen's salary was one of the highest for a county that size of about $227k with close to 500,000 people.

The interim manager George Recktenwald will fill the spot after Dinneen's last day Friday and is expected to serve at least for 90 days.

Reporter Deborah Souverain contributed to this story.