OCEAN CITY -- Council members ended their silence on why they voted former City Manager Dennis Dare out of his job, revealing dissatisfaction with his performance over a period of time.
"I lost my confidence in Dennis," said Council President Jim Hall to a standing-room-only Council Chamber during a meeting. "It wasn't one incident. There is no dirty laundry to air out here and no straw that broke the camel's back."
Hall and Councilwoman Margaret Pillas said there were times when they felt Dare hadn't fulfilled his responsibility to present complete information about government operations to all of the council members. They voted along with Joe Hall and Brent Ashley in a Sept. 8 closed meeting to remove Dare. Lloyd Martin, Doug Cymek and Mary Knight voted against the decision.
Pillas said there were times when she'd asked Dare for information that she didn't end up getting, resulting in her decision to abstain from certain votes due to a lack of knowledge. She said there had been occasions in which she had placed votes without having enough information and that she would take those votes back if she could.
Joe Hall said he and Dare had disagreed on the way the municipal government should be run, and Ashley said he preferred not to get into specifics.
Dare, reached by phone, declined to comment Tuesday.
Joe Hall said the financial health of the town was another factor, an assertion Mayor Rick Meehan took exception to. Meehan said there had been a series of ordinances passed by the majority that would have cost the town $1.5 million this year, if not for a mayoral veto. He pointed out also that the council had opted against a choice when changing retirement benefit plans that would have saved the town another $1.5 million.
Martin said in his experience, whenever he had a question for Dare or any other town staff member, he got it, and called Dare's removal "a total injustice." His statement was greeted with applause from the crowd.
The council has entered discussions behind closed doors pertaining to finding a replacement for Dare.
In a closed meeting before Monday night's regular meeting, Knight made a motion to begin a nationwide search for a new city manager. Cymek and Martin voted in favor of the motion, which was voted down 4-3. After the vote, Knight and Cymek left the closed meeting, and said Martin would have as well if he didn't have an obligation as council secretary to stay.
Knight said the council members who remained in the meeting spoke then with a potential city manager replacement. Longtime Public Works Director Hal Adkins joined the closed session for a discussion during which no action was taken, Jim Hall reported.
When asked Tuesday whether he would have interest in becoming city manager, Adkins said that Dare was aware he aspired to the city manager position when Dare chose to retire on his own. Adkins wrote he had felt the opportunity would present itself in three to five years.
If a national search was conducted, Adkins said he would consider applying for the position in competition with the other applicants the process would generate.
"Let me be crystal clear that, as part of the evolution of the interviewing process and the local reaction that will naturally surface at that time, I would want assurance that the citizens, business community and full-time staff of the town of Ocean City, that I have served for the last 27 (plus) years, were in support of me holding the position," Adkins wrote. "If they were not, I will gladly continue my role as Public Works director and provide the levels of service that our community has grown to expect. ... I work for the people of this town."
Numerous residents expressed disdain during the meeting that the council wouldn't consider a nationwide search, and Knight said she hopes the majority will reconsider.
Meehan said he thinks the council should have a "cooling off period" to evaluate the situation. He acknowledged there are internal employees who would make good candidates, and that he hopes they apply for the position.
"I just think there shouldn't be a shotgun decision like the one that was just made," Meehan said in an interview after Monday's meeting.
Meehan is serving as interim city manager, a fact he made several jokes about Monday night.
The council majority has been heavily criticized since Dare's removal, and Jim Hall said the criticism directed toward him has been warranted. Much of it has come from a group who has rallied under the name Citizens for the Preservation of O.C. The group organized mainly on Facebook, and many members were present for Monday night's meeting.
Joe Groves, a spokesman for the group, challenged Joe Hall to lead the council, and for the members to work as a team. The council's resemblance to the nation's often divisive government is not beneficial for Ocean City or its residents, he said.
"I think you've awakened a sleeping giant, and each of you think it'll go away in a couple of weeks," Groves said of the group and others who are upset with council's actions. "That's not the case. It's not gonna go away this time."
smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14
"I lost my confidence in Dennis," said Council President Jim Hall to a standing-room-only Council Chamber during a meeting. "It wasn't one incident. There is no dirty laundry to air out here and no straw that broke the camel's back."
Hall and Councilwoman Margaret Pillas said there were times when they felt Dare hadn't fulfilled his responsibility to present complete information about government operations to all of the council members. They voted along with Joe Hall and Brent Ashley in a Sept. 8 closed meeting to remove Dare. Lloyd Martin, Doug Cymek and Mary Knight voted against the decision.
Pillas said there were times when she'd asked Dare for information that she didn't end up getting, resulting in her decision to abstain from certain votes due to a lack of knowledge. She said there had been occasions in which she had placed votes without having enough information and that she would take those votes back if she could.
Joe Hall said he and Dare had disagreed on the way the municipal government should be run, and Ashley said he preferred not to get into specifics.
Dare, reached by phone, declined to comment Tuesday.
Joe Hall said the financial health of the town was another factor, an assertion Mayor Rick Meehan took exception to. Meehan said there had been a series of ordinances passed by the majority that would have cost the town $1.5 million this year, if not for a mayoral veto. He pointed out also that the council had opted against a choice when changing retirement benefit plans that would have saved the town another $1.5 million.
Martin said in his experience, whenever he had a question for Dare or any other town staff member, he got it, and called Dare's removal "a total injustice." His statement was greeted with applause from the crowd.
The council has entered discussions behind closed doors pertaining to finding a replacement for Dare.
In a closed meeting before Monday night's regular meeting, Knight made a motion to begin a nationwide search for a new city manager. Cymek and Martin voted in favor of the motion, which was voted down 4-3. After the vote, Knight and Cymek left the closed meeting, and said Martin would have as well if he didn't have an obligation as council secretary to stay.
Knight said the council members who remained in the meeting spoke then with a potential city manager replacement. Longtime Public Works Director Hal Adkins joined the closed session for a discussion during which no action was taken, Jim Hall reported.
When asked Tuesday whether he would have interest in becoming city manager, Adkins said that Dare was aware he aspired to the city manager position when Dare chose to retire on his own. Adkins wrote he had felt the opportunity would present itself in three to five years.
If a national search was conducted, Adkins said he would consider applying for the position in competition with the other applicants the process would generate.
"Let me be crystal clear that, as part of the evolution of the interviewing process and the local reaction that will naturally surface at that time, I would want assurance that the citizens, business community and full-time staff of the town of Ocean City, that I have served for the last 27 (plus) years, were in support of me holding the position," Adkins wrote. "If they were not, I will gladly continue my role as Public Works director and provide the levels of service that our community has grown to expect. ... I work for the people of this town."
Numerous residents expressed disdain during the meeting that the council wouldn't consider a nationwide search, and Knight said she hopes the majority will reconsider.
Meehan said he thinks the council should have a "cooling off period" to evaluate the situation. He acknowledged there are internal employees who would make good candidates, and that he hopes they apply for the position.
"I just think there shouldn't be a shotgun decision like the one that was just made," Meehan said in an interview after Monday's meeting.
Meehan is serving as interim city manager, a fact he made several jokes about Monday night.
The council majority has been heavily criticized since Dare's removal, and Jim Hall said the criticism directed toward him has been warranted. Much of it has come from a group who has rallied under the name Citizens for the Preservation of O.C. The group organized mainly on Facebook, and many members were present for Monday night's meeting.
Joe Groves, a spokesman for the group, challenged Joe Hall to lead the council, and for the members to work as a team. The council's resemblance to the nation's often divisive government is not beneficial for Ocean City or its residents, he said.
"I think you've awakened a sleeping giant, and each of you think it'll go away in a couple of weeks," Groves said of the group and others who are upset with council's actions. "That's not the case. It's not gonna go away this time."
smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14
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