Printable VersionThe City Council narrowly decided to fire City Manager Richard Kaffenberger during a special meeting Tuesday night in city council chambers.
 Nathan Bruttell/News-Herald Photo.Fired City Manager Richard Kaffenberger reacts after the City Council voted 4-3 to terminate him in accordance with his contract Tuesday night. |
Communications and Intergovernmental Affairs Manager Charlie Cassens will replace Kaffenberger, whose contract was set to expire Sept. 30, 2010, for one week until the council’s regular meeting Oct. 27. The council agreed to accept proposals from city staff for an interim city manager. The council will select the interim city manager during the Oct. 27 meeting.
“We’re all guilty sometimes of making mistakes,” Kaffenberger told the council before being fired. “If it’s your desire that you want to fire me for making a mistake, acknowledging that I made a mistake then that’s certainly your prerogative.”
Nexsen said he did not make his decision because of one mistake.
“I am tired of the drama,” Nexsen said, referring to the handling of the sewer project.
Kaffenberger came under fire for proposing the council approve a contract with Faithful+Gould for more than $1 million. Since the process for selecting Faithful+Gould came through direct selection, voting for the item would have been against state statute.
“The whole fiasco with Faithful+Gould violated our trust because you’ve been the city manager at a variety of different places but you know the rules,” Nexsen told Kaffenberger. “If you say it was a mistake I’m going to take you for that but in my own mind I sit there and go, ‘With all of your experience how did you not know that letting a $1.9 million contract is OK without proposals? I don’t know how you get there.”
Nexsen said trust was the key issue in his vote.
“I think what the community is looking for is transparency, honesty and integrity. It’s not to say Richard doesn’t have those qualities, but I think they’re also looking for it in a manner that isn’t constantly stirring the pot,” he said. “They want to know that there’s a captain of the ship and that it’s moving forward. So I felt it was time for a change.”
Several citizens said they were not happy with Kaffenberger’s performance and applauded numerous statements asking for Kaffenberger to be fired.
“There’s an old saying that says if you’re in a hole, it’s time to stop digging,” Clinton Nelson of the Lake Havasu Firefighters Association said.
Resident Gary Gray said he was also not pleased with earlier proposals on the sewer project.
“It’s mind boggling to me the way the city manager handled this,” he said. “To have the proposal delivered to the council at the meeting, he expected the council to make a change of this scope and this magnitude was about as unprofessional as a city manager could possibly be.”
Three council members voted against the termination but none cited approval with Kaffenberger’s performance as a main reason. Instead, finances became a primary concern.
“I think Richard’s intent has been to protect the city and any of us familiar with it would have to agree with that,” Callahan said. “Obviously the (Faithful+Gould proposal) came back in a much different manner than we anticipated. … I am not one in favor of firing him at this point. I think it’s kind of a waste of money. I think for the next 11 months we could make this thing work.”
Barnes said he believed firing Kaffenberger and paying him the rest of his contract was “just bad business” and that keeping him on staff until it expired was better.
Barlow said he agreed.
“I think the cost to do this is disproportionate to what we’re doing,” he said. “I think it’s bad timing.”
City Finance Manager Gayle Whittle estimated Kaffenberger’s contract would cost about $130,000 in accordance with his contract and added that while the council still needs to vote on a contract, it could cost about $30,000 to hire an interim city manager.
You can contact the reporter at nbruttell@havasunews.com
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