OCEAN CITY -- Dennis Dare's tenure as city manager ended Friday at the request of a slim majority of the Ocean City Council, who met to make the decision to remove him in two closed-door meetings.
Councilman Jim Hall said the council voted 4-3 Thursday afternoon to ask for Dare to resign his position by the end of business Friday. Dare had held the position since 1990. Voting to remove Dare were Joe Hall, Jim Hall, Margaret Pillas and Brent Ashley, a majority bloc that's carried several votes since the 2010 election. Voting to keep him were Doug Cymek, Mary Knight and Lloyd Martin.
The council reconvened for another meeting Friday morning, and members moved to go into closed session again. But Knight, Cymek and Mayor Rick Meehan protested the minutes of the Thursday afternoon meeting had to be approved first, and when that didn't happen, those three refused to leave council chambers to attend the closed session in another room. Martin said he would have refused as well if it wasn't his duty as council secretary to record the session.
"The vote should have been reported to the public," Meehan said.
Knight and Cymek said they did not join the closed session partially because City Solicitor Guy Ayres was not present. Jim Hall had told them Ayres would be in attendance, they said, adding they were uncomfortable proceeding without him the day before. Jim Hall disputed those claims, and said Ayres was out of town, unable to attend.
"I was told there was going to be legal counsel here this morning, and that's the only reason I'm here," said Knight while she waited for the closed session to end. Cymek said Jim Hall lied by saying he hadn't told them Ayres would be there.
In their absence, the remaining councilmembers voted to fire Dare if his resignation letter wasn't filed by the end of the business day. After that closed session ended, the council re-entered open session, and Jim Hall explained what votes had been taken in the past 24 hours to a crowd of about 40 residents and reporters.
Jim Hall said it was a tough decision, but the council majority wants Dare replaced because "it's time to take the town in a new direction." He, Joe Hall, Pillas and Ashley declined to comment on any specifics pertaining to the direction.
Dare declined to comment for this story, town spokeswoman Donna Abbott said.
Ocean City's code gives the council sole authority to hire and fire city managers, the town attorney, its clerk and its auditor -- and to establish a municpal orchestra or suppress "bawdy houses," among a long list of other specified powers. The mayor has a vote in the hiring of police chiefs, but not city managers, although the mayor is the acting city manager in case of a vacancy.
Jim Hall said Dare had done a "wonderful, wonderful" job for the town, and after the meeting said they want to give him an unqualified recommendation for whatever his next career move, if any, might be. Jim Hall and Ashley said the decision hadn't been made for budgetary reasons.
Dare follows the direction of the mayor and council, and those elected positions are where change should come from, said Meehan.
Knight and Martin both referred to Dare as an "extremely good city manager," citing his ability to help generate budgets for the town during a lengthy recession, and his help in funding the multimillion-dollar Boardwalk reconstruction project without raising tax rates for the fiscal year 2012.
"I mean, I've got an amazing wife and two great kids. I'm not going to try and change that just because there might possibly be someone better out there," Martin said in an interview after the meeting. While in the closed session, he said, the only thing he voted "yes" for was to end it, saying it was "sick." He said there hadn't been any specific explanation for the ousting of Dare.
Knight said he's upset and concerned for the future of the town in light of the seniority and knowledge it's losing in key positions. The town offered buyouts in 2010 to employees who were eligible for retirement and had not yet done so.
In exchange for his resignation, the council majority said they would pay Dare through Dec. 31 of this year and honor any of his benefits, including a full 30-year retirement package and health pension, Jim Hall said.
Dare was operating on a yearly contract with the town which was renewed automatically in April. Jim Hall said they would honor it "and pay accordingly" in the event of a firing.
The contract would have allowed Dare to be paid his salary in full for 120 days after the contract's termination, but he would not have received the retirement package.
Several residents showed up to wait out the closed session, and many of them voiced disdain with council's decision to conduct such business away from the public. Maryland's laws permit town councils to discuss personnel matters behind closed doors if they like, but doing so in open session is also allowed.
"What you're doing in closed government won't bode well for the future election of some council members," Leonard Berger, the owner of Clarion Hotel and Fontainebleau Resort, said to council before they went into the second closed session. The crowd applauded his comment.
After Dare's removal, a meeting was planned by a group of residents to be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 26 at the Clarion Hotel. They've been publicizing the meeting mostly on Facebook, through a group called "Citizens for the Preservation of our Town of Ocean City Community." John Murphy, one of the group's administrators, said it had been formed when some residents had opposed council decisions they felt were being discussed too heavily behind closed doors.
"Our argument is not over whether a city manager should've been fired or not fired. We just want to make sure the people of this town are being heard," said meeting organizer Joe Groves.
Jim Hall said Ayres advised him he did not have to report on Thursday's closed-door session before entering another, since it was "a continuation" of the first meeting.
Meehan disputed this, saying Ayres had told him council was legally obligated to inform the public of the vote that took place.
Maryland law states that at any open meeting subsequent to a closed meeting, the minutes must include "a listing of the topics of discussion, persons present and each action taken during the session."
Meehan said he hadn't been told about Friday morning's meeting. He found out about it, he said, by browsing Facebook. Interim City Clerk Wayne Pryor said he'd been officially informed about the meeting Friday morning, and his office then faxed notices to the media.
Councilman Jim Hall said the council voted 4-3 Thursday afternoon to ask for Dare to resign his position by the end of business Friday. Dare had held the position since 1990. Voting to remove Dare were Joe Hall, Jim Hall, Margaret Pillas and Brent Ashley, a majority bloc that's carried several votes since the 2010 election. Voting to keep him were Doug Cymek, Mary Knight and Lloyd Martin.
The council reconvened for another meeting Friday morning, and members moved to go into closed session again. But Knight, Cymek and Mayor Rick Meehan protested the minutes of the Thursday afternoon meeting had to be approved first, and when that didn't happen, those three refused to leave council chambers to attend the closed session in another room. Martin said he would have refused as well if it wasn't his duty as council secretary to record the session.
"The vote should have been reported to the public," Meehan said.
Knight and Cymek said they did not join the closed session partially because City Solicitor Guy Ayres was not present. Jim Hall had told them Ayres would be in attendance, they said, adding they were uncomfortable proceeding without him the day before. Jim Hall disputed those claims, and said Ayres was out of town, unable to attend.
"I was told there was going to be legal counsel here this morning, and that's the only reason I'm here," said Knight while she waited for the closed session to end. Cymek said Jim Hall lied by saying he hadn't told them Ayres would be there.
In their absence, the remaining councilmembers voted to fire Dare if his resignation letter wasn't filed by the end of the business day. After that closed session ended, the council re-entered open session, and Jim Hall explained what votes had been taken in the past 24 hours to a crowd of about 40 residents and reporters.
Jim Hall said it was a tough decision, but the council majority wants Dare replaced because "it's time to take the town in a new direction." He, Joe Hall, Pillas and Ashley declined to comment on any specifics pertaining to the direction.
Dare declined to comment for this story, town spokeswoman Donna Abbott said.
Ocean City's code gives the council sole authority to hire and fire city managers, the town attorney, its clerk and its auditor -- and to establish a municpal orchestra or suppress "bawdy houses," among a long list of other specified powers. The mayor has a vote in the hiring of police chiefs, but not city managers, although the mayor is the acting city manager in case of a vacancy.
Jim Hall said Dare had done a "wonderful, wonderful" job for the town, and after the meeting said they want to give him an unqualified recommendation for whatever his next career move, if any, might be. Jim Hall and Ashley said the decision hadn't been made for budgetary reasons.
Dare follows the direction of the mayor and council, and those elected positions are where change should come from, said Meehan.
Knight and Martin both referred to Dare as an "extremely good city manager," citing his ability to help generate budgets for the town during a lengthy recession, and his help in funding the multimillion-dollar Boardwalk reconstruction project without raising tax rates for the fiscal year 2012.
"I mean, I've got an amazing wife and two great kids. I'm not going to try and change that just because there might possibly be someone better out there," Martin said in an interview after the meeting. While in the closed session, he said, the only thing he voted "yes" for was to end it, saying it was "sick." He said there hadn't been any specific explanation for the ousting of Dare.
Knight said he's upset and concerned for the future of the town in light of the seniority and knowledge it's losing in key positions. The town offered buyouts in 2010 to employees who were eligible for retirement and had not yet done so.
In exchange for his resignation, the council majority said they would pay Dare through Dec. 31 of this year and honor any of his benefits, including a full 30-year retirement package and health pension, Jim Hall said.
Dare was operating on a yearly contract with the town which was renewed automatically in April. Jim Hall said they would honor it "and pay accordingly" in the event of a firing.
The contract would have allowed Dare to be paid his salary in full for 120 days after the contract's termination, but he would not have received the retirement package.
Several residents showed up to wait out the closed session, and many of them voiced disdain with council's decision to conduct such business away from the public. Maryland's laws permit town councils to discuss personnel matters behind closed doors if they like, but doing so in open session is also allowed.
"What you're doing in closed government won't bode well for the future election of some council members," Leonard Berger, the owner of Clarion Hotel and Fontainebleau Resort, said to council before they went into the second closed session. The crowd applauded his comment.
After Dare's removal, a meeting was planned by a group of residents to be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 26 at the Clarion Hotel. They've been publicizing the meeting mostly on Facebook, through a group called "Citizens for the Preservation of our Town of Ocean City Community." John Murphy, one of the group's administrators, said it had been formed when some residents had opposed council decisions they felt were being discussed too heavily behind closed doors.
"Our argument is not over whether a city manager should've been fired or not fired. We just want to make sure the people of this town are being heard," said meeting organizer Joe Groves.
Jim Hall said Ayres advised him he did not have to report on Thursday's closed-door session before entering another, since it was "a continuation" of the first meeting.
Meehan disputed this, saying Ayres had told him council was legally obligated to inform the public of the vote that took place.
Maryland law states that at any open meeting subsequent to a closed meeting, the minutes must include "a listing of the topics of discussion, persons present and each action taken during the session."
Meehan said he hadn't been told about Friday morning's meeting. He found out about it, he said, by browsing Facebook. Interim City Clerk Wayne Pryor said he'd been officially informed about the meeting Friday morning, and his office then faxed notices to the media.
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