Belfast votes not to renew manager’s contract

BELFAST – City Manager Terry St. Peter has been given a year to find a new job.

After meeting with him in a secret session for more than three hours Wednesday night, the City Council voted 4-1 not to extend his contract for another year. St. Peter’s contract runs out July 1, 2005.

“It was a very stressful meeting,” Councilor Phil Crosby said the next morning. “I think is was a question of him meeting the goals as set by the council and I don’t think they’ve been met.”

Councilor Anita Robertson’s motion not to extend the manager’s contract “at this time” was seconded by Charlotte Peters. Crosby and Mike Rauch joined them in supporting the measure. Cathy Heberer opposed the motion.

Since his appointment as city manager in 1998, St. Peter had routinely received a one-year contract extension a year before that contract’s expiration date.

“I would expect to visit with the council that exists after the November election and see what my situation with the city entails at that time,” said St. Peter. “I am not going to be pursuing other employment until November.”

Last year the council hesitated at granting the extension, but eventually agreed to after compiling a list of goals for the coming year. Primary in that list was the council’s desire that St. Peter be out among the community and that he visit city departments and meet with employees on a regular basis.

Under terms of the current contract, which pays St. Peter an annual salary of $73,475 plus a vehicle allowance of $300 per month, the council was required to give the manager six months’ notice of its intention not to renew the contract. St. Peter, on the other hand, must give the city 30 days’ notice.

Other than saying he believed he had made a contribution to the city, St. Peter had little to say on the council’s decision when asked for his reaction.

The city will hold its municipal election in November, and the seats of three of the councilors who voted not to extend his contract will be up at that time. Crosby and Peters are apparently considering re-election bids, while Robertson will likely be forced to step down if a city charter-mandated redistricting plan wins council approval.

Mayor Michael Hurley, who has long been in St. Peter’s corner, said he was disappointed in the council’s decision. When asked whether he believed the manager’s employment would be an issue in the upcoming election, Hurley replied, “No. The election issue is going to be the competency of the City Council.”

While Councilor Robertson admitted that “it’s never pleasant to tell somebody that you’re not doing a good job,” she believes that something needed to be done. She said the council had repeatedly asked St. Peter to make an effort to work with the public and city groups.

“My complaints are that he is not a ‘people’ person,” she said. “He doesn’t seem to have the ability to deal with people on a one-to-one basis or in committees. You’ve got to be able to deal with people. The backbone to running a city is to get people to volunteer and he’s not doing that. I think we’re ready for a change.”

Peters also cited St. Peter’s “personal skills” as needing improvement. She also said she never felt “confident” that St. Peter provided the council with the kind of detailed budget information it desired. She said that while prior councils may have granted him the leeway to manage the city the way he wanted to, she and her colleagues wanted him to do it their way.

“There’s just been a failure to follow up in detail, and it’s been a subject of ours at least two years back,” said Peters. “People vary on how much they want someone to manage, but this council wants the details. There’s so many little details that have been overlooked.”

St. Peter is in his 30th year as a municipal manager. During Wednesday’s meeting, he provided the council with a long list of accomplishments undertaken on his watch. Included among them were numerous grants and loans for sewer, road and bridge projects, the adoption of systematic pay scale for city employees, implementation of a five-year capital improvement plan and the establishment of a new police station.

“I would like to continue my employment with the city of Belfast,” said St. Peter. “I think I have made a contribution to the city.”