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Negaunee manager no longer employed

Thornton leaves post at city council

Jeff Thorton

MARQUETTE — The Negaunee City Council voted 4 to 2 in favor of an employment separation agreement with City Manager Jeff Thornton.

Council members Bill Richards and Jim Kantola were elected on Nov. 8 for a term that started in January.

Council member Nick Visser was appointed by the council on February to replace Martin Saari who resigned from his position in October.

The council cast the vote after going into closed session for about an hour and a half to discuss Thornton’s annual evaluation during a special meeting on Monday.

Thornton, who has been employed as the city manager since 2011, requested the evaluation be conducted in closed session pursuant to the Open Meetings Act.

VAN STRATEN

According to the Negaunee city charter, the city manager may be removed by a majority vote of the council, but not if the council has been seated less than four months.

“Except that no manager who has been in the service of the city for one year or more prior to a regular city council election shall be removed within four months subsequent to such election, except for gross misconduct amounting to a criminal offense punishable by statute,” the charter states.

Mayor Don Gladwell, who voted against the separation agreement, said because the separation was mutually agreed upon by Thornton and council members, the action was not a violation of the city charter.

Gladwell said Thornton did well on his annual evaluation, but council members wanted to take the city in a different direction.

“The direction that the council was talking about was more of an economic development of the downtown. It wasn’t a difference of opinion about how to go about it, the council just felt they needed to make a change in order to make it happen,” Gladwell said. “We do a manager evaluation every year, and it just so happened that the city council and the city manager had a difference in the way they wanted to proceed.”

GLADWELL

Former Negaunee mayor Dawn Schuhknecht spoke in support of Thornton during public comment prior to the council’s decision.

“Jeff has done an awesome job in helping the city. He has helped the city budget. He is always looking for the best interest of the city, where many of these council members have personal agendas that they are here for, not for the citizens,” Schuhknecht said.

Mike Van Straten, a former council member, said current members should be careful not to make any rash decisions regarding the city manager.

“I must warn or caution the council to be careful what you wish for,” Van Straten said. “You are working for the people of the city. You were elected by the people in the city; the people in the city have long memories.”

He pointed to the inexperience of the three council members who were seated in January.

“You have to work for the benefit of the city. Until you get a good dose of sitting on that side of the table, you better bide your time and watch what the people of the city want,” Van Straten said. “Agendas have no place at this council table — none. When you are sitting on that end of the table, you are working for the people, not yourselves.”

Council member David Kangas, who cast a nay vote on the separation agreement, thanked Thornton for his service to the city.

“I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Wherever your travels may take you, I am sure that city or town will be for the better,” Kangas said.

Mayor Don Gladwell also thanked Thornton for his service to the city and praised him for improving the city’s financial situation.

“He came in at a very tough time, when we were not sure what was going to be happening. I don’t want to say that we were on the brink of bankruptcy, but we were close. He was able to come in and make the necessary cuts that needed to happen,” Gladwell said.

The decision to cut ties with Thornton was not personal for any of the council members, Gladwell said.

“This was strictly nothing more than the city wanting to move in a new direction,” Gladwell said. “And the council felt it was best to move on with a different city manager.”

Gladwell expressed his appreciation to the council and Thornton for coming to a mutually amicable agreement.

“The city manager was very cordial in there,” Gladwell said. “I also want to thank each and every one of these council members for the professional way that they went about this,”

Gladwell said the council will meet with staff in the next few days regarding advertising for the position.

“We’ll put the word out that the city manager position is vacant, once that gets done we’ll ask for applications, we will probably take them through March sometime” Gladwell said.

Thornton, whose last day of employment with the city will be March 9, is entitled to a severance package based on the terms of his employment contract with the city, Gladwell said.

Thornton, who serves on the Michigan Municipal League board of trustees, was among the final candidates for a city manager position in New Buffalo in lower Michigan on Dec. 9, according to an article in the Harbor Country News.

Officials in New Buffalo confirmed that Thornton did interview for the city manager positon before the city council at its Dec. 9 meeting.

The New Buffalo City Council has since chosen another candidate to fill the position of city manager according to the city website.

Thornton was not available for comment after the meeting.

Lisa Bowers can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242. Her email address is lbowers@miningjournal.net.

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