ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
The Hillsboro City Council terminated the contract of City Administrator Steve Garrett at a special meeting Jan. 24.
Following an executive session for personnel that included a break to wait for the arrival of City Attorney Dan Baldwin, Councilor Byron McCarty’s motion to terminate Garrett’s contract as of 5 p.m. that day was seconded by Shelby Dirks and made unanimous with votes from Len Coryea and Matt Hiebert.
Garrett asked for time to collect his personal effects and offered to update Mayor Delores Dalke on the status of city-related assignments. His request was granted.
Dalke met with city department heads Thursday morning to announce Garrett’s dismissal and make initial decisions about day-to-day operations.
Dalke said later that day that the she would contact the Kansas League of Municipalities to inquire about the availability of managerial assistance on an interim basis as the council undertakes the search process for a permanent replacement.
No comments were made during the council meeting about the reason for Garrett’s dismissal. But Dalke said the following day it had to do with declining job reviews.
“His reviews were not satisfactory and it was necessary to make a change,” she said.
As stipulated in his contract with the city, Garrett will receive his full salary and benefits through the next two months as well as compensation for unused vacation days.
Garrett came to Hillsboro as city administrator in 2000. Over the next six-plus years, he was the city’s point man for a variety of major improvement projects, including the three-phase renovation of Main Street, the construction of the new aquatic center and a major upgrade of the city’s water-treatment plant.
Garrett said he felt he had helped improve the day-to-day working relationship between the city and Tabor College as well as build trust with the City of Peabody, which became a customer of Hillsboro-treated water.
Garrett said Monday he has begun looking for a new job assignment.
“My goal during this transition is the same as it was when I was working for Hillsboro,” he said. “I want to keep looking forward rather than backward. I have found that good things come from that.”
