City of Jacksonville: Management in Crisis
Jacksonville’s former City Manager, Kristoff Bauer, was fired in a 4-2 (Jerome Willingham, Reva Sullivan, Alva Williams and Randy Thomas for, Michael Lazzara and Fannie Coleman against, Sammy Phillips, as Mayor, only votes in ties) vote on June 9th.
After the firing, there was quite the bit of backlash from city employees and residents.
City Employees were stunned that such an excellent manager (Bauer was known for pushing his employees to excel as well as supporting better benefits and pay) would be so easily dismissed with no explanation.
Alva Williams suggested that Bauer had been informed of deficiencies and failed to correct them (or, rather, that’s what I think she meant by this):
"We had given him chance, after chance, after chance for the last year and it was time, it was just time."
Residents aren’t sure what to make of the firing, as Bauer had moved the City forward in the short years he’s been manager. And since details of the closed meeting in which he was fired can only be released by Bauer, residents are taking the only view available: Ego was at stake. Particularly the egos of Willingham, Sullivan, Williams and Thomas.
Peggy Voyles used the Council’s public comment time to voice her opinion:
"From my perspective as a citizen, Mr. Bauer was doing a fine job of managing the city…The citizens deserve an explanation … If you have problems dealing with him on a personal level, how is that the problem of the entire city? Can you not work it out? Why pay him nine months salary for doing nothing when he could be doing his job."
It’s an interesting turn of events in what would be an otherwise unusual municipal election year. Willingham (Ward 1), Sullivan (Ward 2), Williams (At-Large) and Thomas (At-Large) will be facing re-election in November (though you wouldn’t know that by reading the Jacksonville Daily News articles). Filing begins July 6th and this election will place council-members for the next 4 years.
There’s one Jacksonville resident (and former council-member) that I’m willing to bet a quarter on to try to win a seat.
Mr. Horace Mann, a ten-year council-member who lost his At-Large seat in 2007, wrote a letter printed in the Jacksonville Daily News, sent an email asking for participation at the last Council meeting and made a statement to the council there. Mann could run against Willingham in Ward 1 or seek a return to an At-Large seat. He hasn’t publicly committed to running, but I would guess he’ll file for an At-Large post.
I don’t know all the details of Bauer’s removal and no one outside the room probably ever will. I do know that Jacksonville has lost its most forward-thinking and progressive manager in many years. His absence, if not replaced by someone just as educated, just as smart and just as experienced, will be painfully felt for years.
It looks like our fair City may be heading back to the bad old days…
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:00 am
It looks like there may be more to this story if this WITN article is accurate.
It alleges that there has been inappropriate contact from Jacksonville City Council-member Reva Sullivan (Ward 2) and fired-Manager Kristoff Bauer earlier this year.
I have a feeling that the Bauer-City Council feud is far from over and may get hotter as the summer wears on.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:55 am
The Jacksonville Daily News wades into the mess, too.
It seems that Council-member Sullivan thinks Bauer is releasing this as a way to get re-hired. I’m not certain that logic work…
June 30th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
[...] you thought recent dramas in Jacksonville were over, you were wrong. The folks at Americans for Prosperity have [...]