Claremont
The council agreed to obtain cost estimates on two search options. The first, was termed a “hybrid” approach, with the administration conducting the search with the interim city manager and the assistance of a search firm. The second option would rely solely on a search firm.
Mayor Charlene Lovett and Assistant Mayor Allen Damren will prepare a “request for qualifications” for a search firm.
“The RFQ gives us the lay of the land and tells us who is out there,” Damren said.
When McNutt was hired, the city received quotes from search firms ranging from $14,000 to $27,500, according to Lovett.
The council made no mention of creating a search committee that would include a cross-section of community members to interview candidates and recommend several to the council. McNutt and his predecessor, Guy Santagate, were hired using the search committee process.
The council was not swayed by residents who urged it to rethink the decision to fire McNutt. Residents called the decision ill-advised and said it has created instability and uncertainty and that it casts the city in an unfavorable light from the outside.
Meg Hurley, who was on the search committee to hire McNutt, again asked the council for more details on its rationale behind the council-approved resolution to fire McNutt that gave only generalizations about McNutt’s lack of communication with the council on key issues.
Hurley said she spoke to others and learned councilors interfered in the manager’s duties.
McNutt had to “push back against the City Council and Mayor, who were almost certainly crossing professional and ethical boundaries set forth in Claremont’s charter, violating the no-interference clause,” Hurley said, reading from a prepared statement.
Hurley noted that violating the non-interference clause can be cause for removal from office.
“So, maybe what this all came down to was firing the person, who by his integrity, could bring to light this trampling of ethics, this violation of our charter and blatant disregard for the ethical tenets that govern the city,” Hurley said, again asking the council to rehire McNutt.
Resident Dave Putnam said he believed McNutt was doing a good job and his firing has hurt the city’s image. Putnam also said he spoke to the former public works director and city planner, both of whom told him they’d had experiences with the mayor trying to micromanage their departments.
Lovett did not respond to the accusations during the meeting. Reached after the meeting, she said those comments lacked specifics and the council cannot discuss McNutt’s firing because it is a personnel issue.
“Nobody had any specifics. They talked in generalities,” Lovett said.
Claire Lessard, one of two councilors who voted against firing McNutt on Jan. 2, said based on what she heard, McNutt should be rehired to “save the city grief and aggravation and a lot money.”
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
