Published: June 30, 2009 09:41 am      

Make expectations clear when hiring new administrator

On the heels of last week’s acceptance of City Administrator Gary Boden’s departure, it’s safe to say it appears there has been turmoil behind the scenes at Clinton City Hall.

But the purpose of this editorial isn’t to blame; we honestly don’t know what happened. We probably never will — such actions are carried out in closed sessions because they are a personnel issue. We can tell you when Boden was hired, when his resignation was accepted, the vote count — in this case 4-3 to accept his resignation — and what he was earning. That’s really as far as it goes.

So instead of looking at the whys, what we want to focus on is how it all played out.

When Boden asked to have his personnel review taken off the agenda — the review was to take place in closed session a few weeks ago — it seemed odd, but then again, there are benign reasons for such an action.

Then there were the rumors that he was leaving the city, which we were hearing through calls made to the Clinton Herald newsroom. Again, not reportable until action is taken — something that happened when the council accepted his resignation last week.

What we are wondering is why the city council is giving Boden a severance package. After all, when someone resigns, it is their decision.

They give notice and they leave.

But in this case, it appears the council is invoking a clause that allows a severance package to be given if a council member suggests that the city administrator resign. Again we’ll never know if this is what happened since it’s a personnel issue and discussions are taking place behind closed doors. But it appears to be the only piece of the contract that allows the severance package based on resignation.

Taking our thoughts one step farther, we are wondering what happens next. There are many projects going on in the city of Clinton — an ambitious street repair program under way in the city, the 19th Avenue North extension, ongoing sewer work, Liberty Square, getting a restaurateur to commit to setting up in the newly completed Clinton Marina amenities building, the future of the Clinton Fire Department facilities plan, the Clinton library location.... the list goes on and on.

It is apparent with a 4-3 vote to accept Boden’s resignation, there are council members who want him to leave and those who want him to stay.

That speaks volumes and leads us to believe that the council members have different expectations about what they want out of their city administrator.

Now that same council has to decide, going forward, what it is looking for in the next administrator. With all the projects in the works it is critical that those qualifications, desires and expectations are hammered out.

And we want to point out, if the council is divided, as it is here, we believe it is up to the mayor to facilitate and help the council find some kind of common ground.

Don’t get us wrong, opposing points of view are not a bad thing, and in many cases, are healthy as they keep the entire system on track.

It’s when there are such opposing points of view that cannot be resolved that the train derails — as it so obviously has here in a very public way.

We believe the council needs to start now to decide what it wants, to have all expectations clearly defined, so that the right candidate is selected. The council also needs to take into account the candidate’s personality and vision — are they passive, do they look backward to what used to be or are they take charge and progressive.

Once someone is hired, it is up to the council to make sure those things are happening, to direct that person rather than just listen and later decide whether what is happening is fulfilling the overall vision for the city. It is also the mayor’s role to facilitate so the council moves forward in providing that direction.

From the outside looking in, that obviously did not happen in this case.