East Valley Trib Article: Chandler Manager Bows to Council

Chris Markham has a good summary of Monday's events, including the separation agreement, who voted for it, and the potential for a recall against several councilmembers.  Read it all here.  Excerpt:

Chandler manager bows to council

By Chris Markham, Tribune

April 12, 2006

Despite residents and city employees showing considerable support for Chandler’s city manager, the City Council forced his resignation after a nearly 10-hour job review that stretched past 2 a.m. Tuesday.

“He got a raw deal,” Councilman Bob Caccamo said Tuesday afternoon of the council’s decision to accept the resignation of City Manager Mark Pentz in exchange for the executive’s agreement not to take the city to court. “It had everything to do with a four-vote, lame-duck majority,” Caccamo said, referring to Vice Mayor Phill Westbrooks and council members Matt Orlando, Donna Wallace and Martin Sepulveda, all of whom were critical of Pentz during his review. The separation agreement entitles Pentz to a severance package that includes 15 months of regular pay with a 4 percent raise and car allowance, 18 months of health insurance premiums and seven months of retirement contributions that in total will cost Chandler nearly $260,000, according to city estimates. Westbrooks, Orlando, Wallace, Sepulveda and Mayor Boyd Dunn voted to accept the agreement. Dunn, who supported the city manager during his review, said his vote was aimed at “making sure Mark was treated fair.”

 I'm not sure how I feel about a recall at this point.  I'm generally not in favor of recalls on principle – you cast your vote for the candidate you most agree with, then trust they will act responsibly on your behalf based on the commitments they make during their campaign.  If you don't like what they've done, you have the opportunity to vote against them if they choose to run for re-election. 

I have to say I'm pretty upset about the conduct of Sepulveda and Orlando in this sordid affair.  Not only did a good man have his reputation smeared and his career derailed by pettiness, but the City has to bear the substantial costs of his severance agreement (which he DESERVES based on his treatment).  Those costs also include the time and expense of a search for a new manager, the loss of reputation for our fine city (who's going to want that job now?), and the loss of leadership momentum as we move forward with downtown redevelopment, traffic issues, buildout issues, etc.

I'm not certain how to feel about this fledgling recall effort – I could go either way at this point.  But I am outraged at the conduct of the city council.

By the way, did you see Jeff Weninger's outspoken stand in favor of City Manager Mark Pentz, and the prediction on what it would cost to replace him?  I wonder where the other potential candidates stand on the issue.  Email Becky Jackson at becky@jackson4council.com and Trinity Donovan at trinityforchandler@gmail.com. 

Jeff Weninger’s Position on the Mark Pentz Fiasco

Yesterday, I contacted the remaining candidates for city council to inquire as to their positions on the City Manager controversy.  As of this morning, Jeff Weninger is the only candidate to respond.  Becky Jackson and Trinity Donovan have not responded, but I will post their comments if they do.  Following is the statement from Jeff Weninger, exactly as it was given to the City Council on Monday:

Mr. Mayor and Council members, .

             I do not understand how it got to this point.  Mark Pentz is a very bright , kind and successful City Manager by everyone’s assessment, with the exception of four members of this council. Major corporations have spoken up about how important Mark Pentz’s leadership has been. City staff members rated him as succeeding expectations, and in my personal dealings with Mr Pentz, he has been very professional and responsive.

            During the last few weeks, I have seen Mr. Pentz treated incredibly unfairly. He has been put in a position in the press and at Council meetings where he is verbally attacked and has not been allowed to defend himself. I will repeat what I said on an earlier date. If I treated my employees like this, then I would not have any employees left.  Furthermore, if I had an employee like Mark Pentz, I would be working on a way to extend his employment, and I would be  giving him a raise rather than trying to find a way to get rid of him.

            Whatever the outcome here today, this has tarnished Chandler’s reputation!  When four members of the council sully a man’s reputation over petty politics, there is a problem!  Let me remind everyone that in my mind and many others public safety is Chandler’s most important issue. To relieve the City Manager, will cost the taxpayers of Chandler a minimum of $250,000. This is the equivalent of four new police officers for an entire year.  I believe that anyone with a shred of common sense knows that these funds would be better spent on the safety of the citizens of Chandler rather than being spent on personal vendettas. 

            I want to commend Mayor Dunn and council members Caccamo and Huggins for standing by this fine man during this time.I know he and the rest of the city employees are appreciative. I am afraid of the effect that this could have on the morale of other city employees.  When you try to get rid of a man who has been a great steward of Chandler, you can only hope that it does not lead to a further exodus of employees of this great city.

            In closing, I want to implore council members Sepulveda, Orlando and Wallace, and Vice Mayor Westbrooks to reconsider the path that they have taken.  Damage has been done to Chandler’s reputation and morale, but hopefully it can be mitigated by some responsible actions taken by the council today.”

Thank you Mr. Weninger for your response, and your principled stand.  Let's see if the other candidates have similar positions. 

By the way, the East Valley Tribune is supposed to have an update on Monday's meeting.  I won't have time to review it until later, but will post a link and comments sometime later today.