Upheaval at Moab City Hall: For its new City Manager, REBECCA DAVIDSON, ‘It’s DEJA VU all OVER again.’…by Jim Stiles

NOTE: The purpose of this article is to provide Moab citizens with information; I have no vested interest here, other than as a former longtime Moab resident (32 years) who still finds it difficult to believe Moab is changing—physically and ethically–at such a shocking speed. So I offer this information to whoever is interested, with no thought that it might make a difference. I have mainly relied on long quotes and links to other stories in other publications. Clearly, I have an opinion here and have no problem saying my sympathies lie with the dismissed Moab City staffers. But I encourage you to do more than read these highlights; follow the links, read the related articles in their entirety and draw your own conclusions. JS

Rebecca Davidson, new Moab City Manager. Photo from Moab Sun News.

Last month, two longtime employees of the City of Moab, David Olsen, its Community Development Director, and Ken Davey, Moab’s Economic Development Specialist, were dismissed by the new city manager, Rebecca Davidson.

 It took three weeks for news of their removal to reach the public, when the Moab Sun News reported the personnel actions. It noted that:

“The dismissals came after the Moab City Council voted unanimously on Sept. 22 to ratify the city’s organizational chart, following a closed executive session to discuss the ‘Character, Professional Competence, or Physical or Mental Health of an Individual.'”A source who asked to remain anonymous told the Moab Sun News that Olsen showed up for work one day and was given one hour to clear out of his office, under the direct supervision of other city staff.”

Link to the story: http://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_636d1b3a-734d-11e5-b1ea-17e37c45d558.html

Neither was fired, but rather, their removal was part of a city “restructuring.” Davidson told the Sun News that the “city’s previous organizational structure appeared to be ‘kind of jumbled,’ pulling her in different directions.”

Neither Olsen nor Davey were able to speak about the dismissals, but when the story broke, on October 15, Moab/Grand County citizens overwhelmingly expressed shock and anger. One Moabite complained via facebook, “Just read in the paper tonight. Truly sorry way to treat valuable workers. My respect for the City Council and how it allowed this to unfold is greatly diminished. And truly revealing about the City Manager.”

His comments were typical; I’ve yet to see a Moab resident come to the defense of the council or Davidson.

At the center of this controversy is the new city administrator, Rebecca Davidson, and the Moab City Council that hired her last Spring. The council’s enthusiasm for Davidson was unanimous; Mayor

Mayor David Sakrison.

Dave Sakrison told the Sun News last March, “Her experience was paramount. She’s had a broad range of municipal experiences dealing with large capital improvement projects, along with human resources. She covers the bases pretty well.” Council members were equally effusive.

http://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_394dbfa6-d3cc-11e4-846f-c3d39315aeae.html

In the same article, the Sun News mentioned some legal problems Davidson had encountered while serving as the city manager of a small community in Colorado in 2010, but, ” Sakrison and Moab City Police Chief Mike Navarre conducted a thorough review of the dispute in Timnath, and McElhaney said that he and other city officials are reassured by their findings.”

Before her move to Moab, Davidson had been the city manager of Kemmerer, Wyoming, from 2012 to 2015; its mayor stated that he and other officials had “faith in her.”

And yet…the current upheaval at Moab City Hall seems to be a pattern for Ms. Davidson. Wherever she goes, dissension and turmoil follow.

KEMMERER, WYOMING

Rebecca Davidson’s last job, before coming to Moab, was as the city manager of Kemmerer,

Wyoming,  population less than 3000. She arrived in Kemmerer in 2011; by the time she left Wyoming to assume her Moab duties, she had become one of the town’s most controversial citizens. The Kemmerer Gazette covered her tenure, from beginning to end, and from both sides.

From the start, Davidson moved to re-structure and streamline city government and removed and replaced several longtime employees in the process.  Some accused her of favoritism.  Public opinion about Davidson boiled over in a December 2012 council meeting, when Kemmerer’s mayor, Zem Hopkins, addressed concerns about the city manager. They were in reply to a letter to the editor from a former city council candidate, Connie McMillan.

McMillan “expressed concerns about current city administrator Rebecca Davidson, voiced her continued concerns about the loss of a number of Kemmerer city employees since March of this year.”

One resident complained, “My name is Jim Roberts. I have lived in Kemmerer for 70 years. I’ve been to two World Fairs, numerous circuses and I’ve never seen anything like the bunch that is running this town right now. You all ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”

Other Kemmerer residents, including Ellen Potter, acting director of the Main Street Committee and executive director for the Frontier Arts Council, were supportive of Davidson.

The Kemmerer Gazette also, “asked two council members, Kelly Blue and Jim Burnett, about Davidson’s previous issues in Timnath prior to the August primary election. Both confirmed that the council was aware of Davidson’s employment history in Timnath and expressed their confidence in Davidson’s qualifications and abilities, as well as confirming their support for her in her current position.”

This is essentially the same conclusion reached by Moab officials when they inquired about Davidson’s difficulties in Timnath, Colorado.

And finally, according to the Gazette, “Davidson (said)  that the city was restructuring. None of the city’s vacated positions have been discussed during council meetings, which according to Davidson is not an issue as those employees report directly to her, not the city council, and therefore the vacancies do not need to be addressed in council meeting.”

(Here is a link to the full story. Please read it. All we can offer here are excerpts) http://www.kemmerergazette.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=3301

TIMNATH, COLORADO

Before Davidson came to Kemmerer, she spent five years in Timnath, Colorado. Trying to follow the convoluted maneuverings of the Timnath story is difficult. I’ve relied mainly on news stories that aired on Channel 9 News, the NBC affiliate in Denver. In late December 2010, News 9 reported that the Timnath Council would meet to “discuss suspended town manager,” Ms. Davidson.

Timnath Town Hall. Colorado

According to the report, “Davidson has been manager in Timnath since 2005, working on a contract basis until January, when she became a town employee. Separately, the town has also been paying her engineering firm, IB Engineering, hundreds of thousands of dollars a year…This summer, council members asked for an outside investigation into the town’s contracting and bidding processes. The report by a Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency investigator has not yet been made public.”

It also reported that Timnath’s mayor, Donna Benson, “with whom Davidson has clashed,” had also filed a law suit against the Timnath council, “over secret meetings to hear employee complaints about her. Davidson’s complaints about Benson’s interactions with town staff prompted the secret meetings.”

http://archive.9news.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=172345

A week later, Davidson and Timnath were back in the Denver headlines when 9News announced Davidson had resigned. The “three-way deal” ended with Davidson’s resignation and the resolution of a $1 million law suit “brought by Loveland-based Gerrard Excavating Inc. against the 633-resident town and Davidson, who until last year was both town manager and the town engineer responsible for overseeing the Old Town sewer reconstruction project”

9 News Reporting on Timnath Controversy.

9News also reported that, “Davidson was suspended with pay last summer, several weeks after Town Council members received an audit of Timnath finances. Council members cited the need to ‘review invoicing, lack of documentation, fair treatment in the bidding process, town contracts and other processes’ in suspending Davidson but never offered any further specifics.”

The report noted that Timnath officials would not publicly discuss the matter and that, “both sides signed a non-disparagement clause and agreed to keep confidential a report about Davidson written by an outside investigator.”

http://archive.9news.com/news/article/174983/0/Timnath-town-manager-resigns 

BACK TO KEMMERER..

By the time Davidson accepted her new position in Moab, debate about Kemmerer’s departing city manager had reached a fever pitch. One Kemmerer-based facebook page became such a foul-mouthed, mud-slinging free-for-all, I’d be hard-pressed to find anything printable. But clearly, the town has been badly divided over decisions made by Davidson and the city council.

Kemmerer, Wyoming.

Davidson’s announcement that she was leaving came as a shock to many, including the Gazette, noting her sudden departure was “a surprise.” And while the mayor and city council wished her well, it made an unusual decision when the City Council, “voted 4-2 to restrict Davidson’s ability to hire and fire employees during her final weeks.” A majority of Kemmerer’s governing body apparently feared Davidson would fire or replace even more staff in the remaining few weeks of her job there.

http://www.kemmerergazette.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=4012&page=72

Councilperson Kyle Bailey

MOAB, ITS  STAFF & THE FUTURE…WHAT’S NEXT?

In a recent Times-Independent front page story, city council members sought to rationalize their actions. The story noted that the council was well-aware that jobs would be lost to longtime public servants but, councilwoman Kirsten Peterson noted, it was necessary to, “manage the city for the best potential for all its citizens.” 

Councilwoman Heila Ershadi explained that the changes were necessary to, “allocate our limited taxpayer monies in ways that would best serve the current needs of the community.”

Councilperson Heila Ershadi.

And in the T-I story, Mayor Dave Sakrison shrugged, “I feel bad about [Davey] and [Olsen]…I’m sorry that two people lost their jobs, but it’s our responsibility to taxpayers to make sure the city runs as smoothly as it can. It wasn’t a overnight decision.”

http://moabtimes.com/view/full_story/26922403/article-City-restructures-departments--eliminates-two-longtime-positions?instance=home_news_right

Sakrison is right about one thing—it wasn’t an overnight decision. Rumors that the city council wanted to purge some of its staff have been around for more than a year, which is why Davidson’s appointment should have come as no surprise.  Rebecca Davidson likes to ‘re-structure.’ Clearly she doesn’t mind ruffling feathers and creating controversy. That’s not an opinion, but rather a simple observation of her past ten years as a public servant. The Moab City Council must have been aware of Davidson’s background and her volatile tenure at both Timnath and Kemmerer before they selected her from more than 50 applicants. This cannot have been an oversight—THIS is exactly what the Moab City Council expected from its new city manager.

In any case, if conflict and dissent are what they want, it looks like they have a good start with their new city manager, someone who moves comfortably with that kind of baggage, from town to town and job to job.

The question is—do Moab’s citizens feel the same way?

Councilperson Kirstin Peterson.

Councilperson Gregg Stucki.

Councilperson Doug McElhaney.

Jim Stiles is Founder and Co-Publisher of the Canyon Country Zephyr.