McMacken will not be reappointed

During the Hill City Common Council meeting Sept. 23, mayor Tana Nichols said, “After many lengthy discussions and conversations with (city administrator) Brett (McMacken) and huge appreciation from the city for 16 years of loyal service, I need to announce that I will not be reappointing him as city administrator. I offered to let him continue working a while. However, he chose to make this his last day.” 

With assurances that this was a mutual decision between McMacken and herself, Nichols said she and the council had their work cut out to find the path forward. 

Per Hill City Municipal Code (HCMC) Title One Chapter 1.04.01 Appointment by Mayor, “The mayor, with the approval of the common council, shall appoint the officers described in this chapter, and such officer shall then enter upon the discharge of their duties as soon as they have qualified. Salaries of such officers shall be fixed by resolution or contract. Said appointments shall be for a two-year term and made in the month following the mayoral election.”

This includes but is not limited to the city attorney, city engineer and city administrator.

After being sworn in at the July 8 meeting, Nichols asked the council to table appointments for 90 days so she could “do her due diligence and meet with them before making any recommendation,” per the official meeting minutes. This was unanimously approved.

In a private conversation, council president Lori Miner said, “In my opinion, she took the appointments seriously for all those positions and considered all of them.”

Miner and council vice president Ethan Walker said the council knew Nichols was discussing the position with McMacken but did not know the result until the announcement Sept. 23. 

Originally, McMacken was appointed to the role of city administrator by mayor Don Voorhees 16 years ago. McMacken’s most recent two-year term was at an end, pending the mayor’s decision to either reappoint him or appoint someone else. 

In a later interview, Nichols said she met with McMacken in the afternoon Sept. 23 after he returned from time away handling a family emergency. This is when the decision was officially made. 

“There was no ugliness, nothing like that. He’s going to help his parents out for a little here and take a little time off,” said Nichols. “In his words, ‘Maybe it’s time for a change.’ That basically was the consensus.”

Nichols offered to let McMacken continue working during the transition period, but said, “he wasn’t interested. He wanted to be done.” McMacken did not attend the Sept. 23 meeting. 

Under HCMC Title One Chapter 1.03.04 Duties of the Mayor B, it says, “He (the mayor) shall appoint all officers of the city, but such appointments must be approved by the city council.” 

It continues in C saying, “Except as otherwise provided by law, he (the mayor) shall have the power to remove from office any officer appointed by him with council approved.”

Since McMacken’s most recent two-year term was at an end and the decision was mutual, no council approval was required according to Nichols.

“Other than what I’ve shared, there’s really not much else to say. It was a mutual agreement between the two of us to do it this way. He didn’t particularly want it to go to a vote, so I respected his decision,” said Nichols in a later interview. 

McMacken was contacted for comment, but a response was not received by the time of publication.

During the Sept. 23 meeting, Nichols said, “I would like to remind everyone that we have an excellent city staff, and they will be helping me figure things out in the next few weeks. The city will continue to run smoothly, and each issue will be addressed as it comes.” 

In a later interview, Walker said, “I’m sure that for the staff that is still with Hill City, it’s a big change. There’s probably unknowns that they’re wrestling with, but we want to be as supportive as we can during this time.”

“I believe that we have a dedicated, hard working staff, and that business will continue as usual in the interim until decisions are made as to how to proceed forward,” Miner said.

In the meantime, Nichols said in a later interview later interviewshe is reading and researching city projects to get up to date. 

“My goal is honestly to try to bring everybody together—staff, council and the community,” Nichols said. “It’s a shock, and it’s a change. Nobody likes change a lot. And it’s been particularly hard on that staff. They’re real close. So I’m trying to fill in the best I can without making anybody think I’m trying to take his place because I’m certainly not.”

Nichols said city staff members know their jobs, and she would work on a voluntary basis to “put out fires and pick up the slack” until the city has a path forward. 

“I’m really trying to let the staff know that I support them, that I’m working with the council to show more support for them and just try to bring us all together as a team to do this,” said Nichols. 

At the Sept. 23 meeting, Nichols said she would be in her office at city hall each afternoon to address questions, comments and opinions from anyone wishing to speak to her. She also plans to start submitting a mayor’s column to the Hill City Prevailer-News  to keep the community updated. 

Along with this, Nichols said the council would begin meeting with her two at a time to discuss ideas until they could meet at a future council meeting with a clearer path. 

“I will personally be available to staff for whatever needs they may have, and I will keep each council member updated on any issues, ideas and suggestions made from each other, the staff and from the general public.

“I personally thank Brett again for his service and wish him good luck in his future endeavors. I assure you this was not an easy decision. As soon as we have a clear path forward, we will update the citizens and work out the details in public forum. Until then, there will be no public discussion concerning this tonight,” said Nichols at the Sept. 23 meeting. 

When asked why she chose to forgo public comment in a separate interview, Nichols said, “I just saw no point. I knew there was going to be division, and people aren’t gonna really understand. It would have been some for, some against, and the one thing Brett did not want was a public thing about this.” 

Nichols said she did not have any answers to offer at that moment otherwise she would have said something.  

“We’re working on it. Everybody just be patient, be kind. Try to be supportive,” said Nichols. “We’re going to take care of everything as soon as we can, and in the meantime, I’m just going to try to pick up the slack.”

“I certainly wish Mr. McMacken the best, and we thank him for his service,” Miner said. “Should anyone in the public have any questions or hear anything that they have concerns about, please don’t hesitate to contact the mayor directly. We, being the council, and she, as the mayor, would prefer that people have factual information.” 

In a later interview, Walker said, “The council has the best interest of Hill City and residents in mind moving forward. We want to do everything we can to be supportive, but as it comes to appointments, the final say comes down to the mayor and she’s the one that makes that decision.

“We’re going to follow the lead of Tana as far as the direction that she wants to go. I don’t know, but I don’t think that there’s anything absolutely immediate, but we’re going to follow her lead and provide input as it’s requested as we work through this period of change with the ultimate objective that we want Hill City to continue to be a great place to live and work and operate businesses.”