Ellsworth manager agrees to step down Tim King negotiates settlement with city

ELLSWORTH – After months of controversy about renewing his contract, Tim King has agreed to step down as city manager at the end of the month.

King, who has been Ellsworth’s city manager since 1990, negotiated a deal with the City Council that will get him $50,000 in severance pay, plus compensation for whatever unused vacation time he has at the end of June. With an estimated six weeks of unused vacation time, King said he anticipates receiving $58,800 from the city when he leaves.

As part of the settlement, King has agreed not to sue the city or any city officials over the issue of his contract renewal. He also agreed neither to apply for the position of Ellsworth city manager nor to accept any offer for the position in the future.

The agreement was made public Monday night at the City Council’s regular monthly meeting.

“I’ve always tried to keep the best interests of the city in mind with whatever I’ve done,” King told the council. “It has been 121/2 wonderful years.”

King, who earns a salary of $74,666, said the decision to negotiate the severance package was a difficult one but that he is grateful to the residents of Ellsworth and to the employees at City Hall.

“I also leave the city in good hands,” King said. “We have a wonderful city staff.”

King said after the meeting that he does not have any plans for what he will do in the near future, aside from giving himself a few weeks vacation. He said he does not know if he will stay in Ellsworth or move with his family elsewhere.

“It’s unlikely that I would find another [city manager] position that would allow me to remain here,” King said.

In voting on the settlement, Councilors Lee Beal, Carrie Ciciotte, Leigh Guildford, Greg Lounder and Barbara Reeve voted in favor of approving it. Councilors Bob Crosthwaite and Larry King, who is not related to the city manager, voted against it.

Resident Robert Murray criticized the council for initiating the procedure that led to King’s negotiated departure.

“It should never have happened,” Murray said. “You’ve mishandled this since day one. I hope you sleep well.”

Murray’s comment elicited both supportive applause and boos of disagreement from some of the 45 or so people who attended the meeting.

Resident Donna Kitchen, however, supported the council’s decision.

“You people should have the right to say he’s doing a good job [or] he’s not doing a good job,” she said.

Resident Eddie Povich called King a “mensch” and said he would miss him.

“Tonight is a sad night for me,” Povich said, speaking to King. “In your opinion this is in the best interests of the city and I can’t argue with that.”

Council Chairman Lee Beal said after the meeting that he feels the negotiated severance package is appropriate.

“I think it’s the right way to go,” Beal said. “Tim has served the city of Ellsworth very well for a number of years and he deserves a good severance package.”

The city will approach Maine Municipal Association about conducting a search for a new city manager, according to Beal. The city likely will find an interim city manager through MMA before finding someone to fill the position long term, he said.

A new long-term city manager hopefully will be hired by September, he said.

The issue of renewing King’s contract came to light in March when four city councilors – Beal, Ciciotte, Lounder and Reeve – agreed to hold a special meeting in executive session about the matter. The councilors initially declined public comment on the issue, but eventually discussed the matter in open session after King and Councilors Bob Crosthwaite and Larry King criticized the four councilors for not discussing the matter with them ahead of time.

Each of the four councilors who agreed to bring the matter up said Tim King’s three-year contract should not be renewed because they felt a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to advance the interests of the city.

Several public meetings were held after Tim King told the council he wanted the matter to be discussed in public session.