City Manager vs. City Council

The council failed. The city manager went rogue. Riots festered under the circus big-top.

Contract clarification: 'for cause' should have been detailed in the contract. If it wasn't, get a better lawyer. 'For cause' goes to nuts and bolts, dotting I's and crossing T's. Effective executives hire staff capable of dotting I's and crossing T's then move on to the real work of their position: leadership.

'No cause' is everything and anything else. In practice, it pretty much comes down to leadership-that intangible quality of executive skill in relationships with board, staff, public and key partners.

Leadership is a nebulous concept, a worm-filled, over-used noun that nonetheless singularly defines the value of an executive. An indispensable quality if council is a part-time group with little or no background in the guts of city administration and a full-time, sometimes misguided, passion for their town.

Think non-profit boards. They're hell on staff and executive directors. They move in ways that defy the laws of physics. But non-profits live and die by their board. As towns do by their council. The success or failure of a non-profit board is the litmus test of an executive director's leadership.

Eileen Stein is an executive, a fiduciary of the organization and servant of the council. City executives lead their council: providing an array of information, perspectives and opportunities, then guide council through meaningful debates prior to vote. Short of illegality or unethical conduct, council decisions become Eileen's duty. Inexorably. Personal impact notwithstanding.

Based on the vote to terminate, it seems Eileen was unsuccessful in her relationship with council.

Based on riots and tears in the circus tent, it seems Eileen has fans in staff and public. Excellent but irrelevant to the termination. Eileen is expected to sustain good relations with staff and public. More critically, she also is expected to sustain an excellent relationship with the council-not just some of the members, but all.

So what happened? Eileen refused to accept council's decision and council failed to effectuate it.

Employees are taking sides, drawing lines, worried about ramifications depending on who 'wins.' Citizens are taking sides, drawing lines, generally uninterested in the council's relationship with Eileen.

Council members have either circled the wagons or surrendered. Council members have been threatened with loss of business and worse. The council is distracted from its responsibilities, caught between the hard place of incomplete, incoherent statements and the rock of legal risks.

So who is to blame for this mess? Eileen or the council? Easy. Both of them failed. Miserably.

To keep her job, Eileen shoved the termination into the public forum, forcing a showdown, upending the organizational structure and taking down the authority of council members who dared terminate her. Eileen has two possible answers:

(A) 'In a million years, I never imagined such a furor when I kicked the issue into the public forum.' Bad answer. Besides disingenuous, the answer reveals a startling lack of judgment and discretion. An executive carefully weighs consequences, deploys foresight and judgment before taking any action and takes absolute responsibility for the resulting chain reaction. Without hesitation and with apology.

(B) 'It was important to put this matter before the public. They have a right to present their input.' Another really bad answer. Re-read everything above. Twice.

As for council? The council reviewed their relationship with Eileen. A majority was prepared to terminate Eileen. Eileen kicks it into a public forum, fine. But inviting public opinion? Only council can judge their relationship with Eileen Stein. Asking for public input was a complete abdication of council's responsibility, an internal power scheme gone wrong, and a public relations disaster which has shattered their credibility and reputation. Council took a chainsaw to their knees then expressed shock when it rained blood.

Lauren von Lilliequist is an attorney who lives in Sisters.