Indeed, what is going on at Brownwood City Hall ?

Op Ed: Columnists
The Brownwood Bulletin
Questions abound as city manager prepares to exit — Robert Brincefield

What is going on at city hall ?

Mayor Bert Massey confirmed that on Tuesday, Brownwood City Council will take up matters related to City Manager Kevin Carruth. What are the matters related to Carruth? The mayor would not comment, but the rumor that Carruth had been asked to submit his resignation have been rampant for a couple of weeks. What is not clear are the reasons for a request of this nature, coming without warning on the eve of the holiday season.

Friday, the Bulletin received a copy of the council’s agenda and indeed three items regarding the city manager are listed as part of an executive session. Item B. involves consultation with attorney over the city manager’s voluntary exit agreement. Item C lists resignation of city manager and Item D says appointment of interim city manager.

What is going on at city hall?

In April of this year the city council backtracked off of a personnel initiative involving the city manager’s office that would almost certainly have led to chaos. Two city council members proposed adding deputy city manager to the list of duties of the current city attorney. At the time the city already had an assistant city manager, James Cook, who reports to the city manager. The city attorney, however, reports to council. Rather than being an idea to make more efficient use of personnel, it would have created a very odd and ambiguous working arrangement between two of the city’s top managers. One council member said there was a feeling on the council that the city attorney, who was a finalist for the city manager’s job a year earlier, should be put in the No. 2 spot because he was capable. He went on to say that it had nothing to do with Carruth not doing his job.

Fast forward seven months, and the council again is faced with a clumsy personnel situation involving the city manager.

One may ask if Carruth is taking the fall for the debacle of the annexation and the PILOT agreements issue. There is little disagreement that it was a public relations nightmare for city officials. But unlike the meddling mentioned above, where council overstepped their role of oversight and counsel, the annexation issue is a case where they did not exercise it.

One of the duties of a city manager is to explore revenue opportunities for the city. One would think that was a quality the council was seeking when they selected an experienced and qualified candidate from out of town. On paper the sizable amount of tax revenue available from Camp Bowie, if the area was a part of the city and subject to city taxes, was an opportunity. If Carruth had not raised the subject of annexation, city officials should have been suspect of his credentials. He did, and this is when the council needed to step up and provide the historical background and political insight.

The mayor and three members of the council were a part of city government when a similar approach was taken only six years ago. The reaction from the industries and the economic development community was not much different in 2000 than it was this fall. It was not a good idea for Brownwood then, because the history of cooperation between government, industry and private economic development groups had been successful for the entire community. Given the direction industrial jobs have taken in the nation since, it made for a worse strategy this time around. If the elected city officials had been astute they would have recognized the obvious and provided the counsel and leadership to avoid a situation that left them with egg on their face. To say they botched the process would be an understatement.

Another scenario suggests this may have been the strategy all along. Let the new manager broach the annexation issue, encourage him along the way, if it worked, great — if it did not offer him up as the sacrificial lamb. This allows the deputy, I mean interim manager, to be elevated and he will not have to deal with it because the PILOT contracts now extend for 15 years.

It may be too late to reverse direction and too convenient for council to make Carruth a scapegoat, but I have a hard time understanding how taking this course will pay long-term dividends for the city. The task of attracting qualified, experienced applicants from outside the community in the future just became more difficult.

What is going on at city hall — and who really knows? City officials will not comment.

Robert Brincefield is publisher of the Brownwood Bulletin. His column appears on Sunday. He may be reached by e-mail at bob.brincefield@brownwoodbulletin.com.

source: http://www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2006/11/26/op_ed/columnists/opinion08.txt
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Note from Steve:

What did Kevin Carruth inherit ? The words (below) may shine some light on what he (Kevin) may have inherited when reporting for duty in Brownwood ! Brownwood Texas: Dysfunctional, major spots, blemished, wrinkled, and an albartoss !

* "It's a new era for Brownwood. It's a new generation. We're going to have ... a young, progressive city manager with a great temperament and loads of experience.

* "He's going to be inheriting a family that is not dysfunctional ... a city that does not have major spots, blemishes or wrinkles. He'll do the touchup paint and the trim and things like that, but he's not inheriting an albatross."

* Brownwood City Council Member Dave Fair

source: http://stevesmarketanddeli.com/2005/04/lake-brownwood-state-park-drug-bust.htm
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From the Abilene Reporter News

Brownwood city manager on the way out ?
Brownwood City Council to consider resignation Tuesday

By Celinda Emison / emisonc@reporternews.com
November 25, 2006

Brownwood City Manager Kevin Carruth may resign from his post after being on the job for only a year and a half.

According to the Brownwood City Council agenda posted Friday morning, council members will consider Carruth's resignation during executive session Tuesday morning.

The panel also will consider the terms of Carruth's ''voluntary exit agreement'' and may appoint an interim city manager.

Carruth did not comment Friday on his possible resignation or the proposed exit agreement.

On Nov. 14, the council conducted evaluations of Carruth, the city secretary, city attorney and the municipal court judge.

Mayor Bert Massey said there was no action taken as a result of the session.

Massey would not comment on Carruth's possible resignation or what will happen at Tuesday's council meeting.

''I cannot make a prediction about what will be discussed,'' Massey said.

Councilmen Dave Fair and Ed McMillian declined comment on Carruth's resignation. So did City Attorney Pat Chesser.

In April 2005, Carruth, 40, the former city manager of Hillsboro, was hired to replace Gary Butts, who retired after serving 13 years as Brownwood's city manager. Carruth started work in June 2005.

Butts' long tenure was unusual. According to Public Administration Review, city managers usually serve short stints - often because they run afoul of elected city officials whose agendas may not match those of the managers they hire.

Carruth makes $100,000 per year, and receives a car allowance and health and retirement insurance.

Carruth has a master's degree in public administration from the University of Houston and a bachelor's degree in political science from Texas Tech University.

EDITED BY: BRIEN MURPHY; COPY EDITED BY: BEVERLY BUTMAN; HEADLINE BY: BEVERLY BUTMAN

source: http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_5168750,00.html