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SUNNY Temp: 57 °F Wind: S at 3 mph Saturday, September 27, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend August 23, 2003 City administrator quits over McKean issue Walker says Phoenix officials broke a hiring-firing agreement with him By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune PHOENIX — The City Council has unanimously accepted the resignation of City Administrator Don Walker, who quit Tuesday in a dispute over hiring and firing. In his resignation, Walker claimed the council, in suspending police Lt. Robert McKean, broke its agreement with him that the council would only hire and fire on his recommendation. Mayor Larry Parducci and council members all pointed to the city charter, which states the mayor and council have sole authority to hire and fire. They accepted his resignation at a Thursday night meeting. "At coffee Monday, Don said there had been a miscommunication between the charter and his job description," said Parducci, "but I think we made clear at several meetings that only the council hires and fires. It’s unfortunate but we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do (in accepting the resignation)." Advertisement Parducci and council members said they would like to use Walker on contract for his specialties of securing transportation and other grants, possibly for work on Highway 99 or the second phase of the Fern Valley interchange. Walker, a longtime public works director for the city of Medford, did such work for Phoenix before being hired as city administrator two years ago. Parducci noted the council had "lost a lot of authority and respect" with this incident and needs to decide, during the 30- to 60-day period of hiring a new administrator what to do to avoid "the same kind of problem" with the new one. "It would have been simple to say I agree or disagree (with the suspension of McKean)," said Parducci, "but we (the council) still have our say and a city administrator needs to realize that and most would." "He had too much of Medford in him," said Councilman Otto Caster. "He couldn’t get that city administrator system (as opposed to mayor-council system) out of his system." "Too bad our form is mayor-council," said Councilman Dan Martin. "It was hard for Dan to work without the power to hire and fire." "He should read the charter," said Councilman Dan Sauro. Caster said he talked to Walker on Tuesday and that Walker said he couldn’t work under the circumstances and wouldn’t reconsider. "I’m glad he said he’d come back to work on transportation because he knows how to get things done." Parducci and others commended Walker for his long hours, taking jobs off their shoulders, "taking flak from environmentalists" and continuing his good work on transportation and grants. "But we need to get it understood (from the next administrator) that he works for the council and no matter what his beliefs are, he has to take his direction from us and adhere to our decisions. Don has a problem with that." Councilman Curt Georgesen suggested reviewing the job description to define responsibilities explicitly, "so this won’t happen all over again." John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times