A four-member majority of the Ellsworth City Council has plunged the city into a mess. After plotting a special council meeting to start the process of getting rid of City Manager Tim King, the four now have pushed through a preliminary vote not to renew his contract when his present term ends on June 30. They gave only vague reasons, summed up as “loss of trust and confidence” in his ability to advance the interests of the city.

This meant hiring an attorney to advise on procedures, conducting two crowded special meetings, holding a public hearing yet to come, and scheduling a final vote on the contract renewal.

When the four at last gave their reasons, councilor Leigh Guildford said merely that it was time for a change. Greg Lounder complained that the

city manager had not aggressively pursued transportation and planning goals set by the council. Barbara Reeve said “dozens and dozens” of people had told her they did not have confidence in Mr. King. Carrie Ciciotte said Mr. King had not responded adequately to her requests for information on financial matters.

Council Chairman Lee Beal, who voted to renew the contract along with Bob Crosthwaite and Larry King (no relation to the city manager), said

most of the criticisms could be addressed better through the evaluation process than through the termination process. City Manager King had been given, by a 5-to-2 council vote, a 3.5 percent raise last October after an evaluation of his performance.

Near the end of the recent special meeting, Councilor King called for an investigation of “corruption” in the Ellsworth City Council by the Maine Attorney General’s Office. The lawyer said the proposal would require a vote. Mr. King did not call for a vote, but he and others are pursuing the request as independent citizens.

If the four persist, as seems probable, Ellsworth could incur an expensive lawsuit and could be without a city manager for some time. Prospective new applicants for the job could be put off by the current conspiratorial and divisive atmosphere in the city.

There are two possible ways to mitigate this bleak prospect. One, the less likely, would be for one or more of the four councilors to relent. The other would be a compromise resolution granting the city manager a new contract for, say, six months. That would give the city time to select and install a new city manager. And it would give the present city manager time to find a new job.