City councilors and the mayor verbally battled over the mayor’s authority to appoint certain city officials in a debate taking almost an hour and a half of the Roswell City Council’s nearly six-hour meeting Thursday night.
At issue was Mayor Tim Jennings’ recommendation of Hessel Edward Yntema IV as city attorney. Current City Attorney Parker Patterson will be leaving at the end of August to take a job in the Alaska attorney general’s office, City Manager Joe Neeb said.
Several councilors argued that by appointing a city attorney, Jennings was bypassing the city’s established hiring procedures, but Jennings countered that appointing a city attorney and several other officials is within the mayor’s authority given by state statute.
Jennings also said he had been denied his right to appoint a city clerk and that the city council had given up some of its responsibilities to City Manager Joe Neeb.
Jennings ultimately broke a 5-5 tie vote, approving Yntema’s appointment effective Sept. 1. Voting against the recommendation were Councilors Jeanine Corn-Best, Barry Foster, Angela Moore, Savino Sanchez and Jason Perry. Councilors Cristina Arnold, Juliana Halvorson, Juan Oropesa, Edward Heldenbrand and Robert Corn voted in favor.
Councilors who voted against his appointment said they were not voting against Yntema and believed him to be qualified, but questioned going against the city’s usual process of advertising the position, creating a job description, vetting candidates, and offering a salary package.
Foster and Perry also noted an appointed official reports to the council and mayor, rather than to the city manager, which they said goes against city code and state statute.
Foster read the city code addressing appointment of the city manager: “The city manager shall be appointed by the mayor, with the consent of the governing body, and shall be the principal administrative officer of the city. He shall be responsible to the governing body for the proper administration of all affairs of the city,” Foster said, emphasizing the last sentence.
Perry cited state statute on municipal administration that says a governing body can establish city departments, with each “under the charge of a person employed by the manager.”
“If we’re going to go through the appointment process, we will now have a city attorney that cannot be the department head of the Legal Department of the city of Roswell,” he said.
A little more than an hour into the discussion, Jennings vehemently defended his authority to make appointments, saying state statute allowed a mayor to appoint four positions — a clerk, a treasurer, a police chief and a city attorney.
Jennings attempted to appoint a clerk in his first meeting April 1, but his recommendation — former City Clerk Sharon Coll — failed to gain a majority vote of the governing body, or six votes, after a debate and executive session. Two councilors left during the executive session, resulting in a 4-4 tie.
Coll had been clerk for 10 years when she abruptly resigned in February two weeks before the March 1 municipal election. The council approved then-Mayor Dennis Kintigh’s recommendation of Amalia Martinez, a paralegal in the city Legal Department, as interim city clerk. At the same time, the city clerk position was reorganized from a department director to being managed by the Legal Department at a lower rate of pay.
In May, after a posted search for the position, the city hired Gabrielle Han as city clerk; however, Martinez also continues as interim city clerk.
“I’ve never understood why Dennis, Mayor Kintigh, got a $90,000 clerk and I got my clerk when I was called on April 1 and (was asked) ‘Would you like to interview your new clerk?’ That’s not who I had in mind for my clerk. That was not his job,” Jennings said, pointing to Neeb, “and I”m going to pick people who will protect the people’s money and their rights and your rights to set the policy in this community. That is our job,” he said.
Jennings said he believed the city council had given up some of its responsibilities to the city manager through ordinances.
“We cannot shirk and give our responsibilities on setting the policy and running our community to the city manager. We can’t do that,” Jennings said. “The city manager’s responsibility is to pick up the policies here that we prescribe him to carry out, and if he doesn’t carry them out then we fire him. That’s the way it is,” he said.
“The will of the people is that I won. I did win mayor and I think I should have a right to pick my clerk, my police chief and my attorney and my treasurer, so at least give me the second one,” Jennings said. “To me, it’s common courtesy. Whether you like me or not that’s OK, but I’m going to tell you, for respect for the office you ought to do it.”
Jennings has not yet recommended anyone for appointment as chief of police or city manager. Finance Director Janie Davies was appointed as treasurer in May.
The council did approve 10-0 Jennings’ recommendations of Matthew Bristol, Larry Connolly and Mona Kirk to the Extraterritorial Zoning Commission and 9-0 of Heldenbrand to the Extraterritorial Zoning Authority. Heldenbrand abstained from voting.
In other business, the city council took the following action:
• Voted 10-0 to uphold the Planning and Zoning Commission’s approval of a zone change for 20 acres near Alameda Avenue and South Eisenhower Road from residential to recreational vehicle park for the development of an RV resort.
• Voted 5-4 to send proposed changes to Recreation Department fees back to the General Services Committee. Councilors Heldenbrand and Moore had concerns about spectator fees and Moore also asked about increasing the discount for veterans.
• Approved their top choices for the Infrastructure Capital Improvements Plan as refurbishment of the 7.5 million gallon water reservoirs on Country Club Drive; storm drainage improvements on Brasher Road; replacement of large diameter water lines throughout the city; purchase of 13 new police vehicles; remodeling of the sanitation department shop; deferred maintenance at the Roswell Adult Center; and design of a new terminal at the Roswell Air center. The vote was 9-0; Councilor Sanchez had left the meeting prior to the vote.
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