The Orange County Register reported yesterday that the City of Westminster has placed its City Manager Mitch Waller on paid leave. Following a 40 minute special closed session meeting, the Council gave Waller a choice; retire or be fired.
According to the Register story:
Waller, a former Westminster police chief who has worked for the city for 29 years, will be on paid leave until “he retires or is terminated,” Mayor Margie Rice said.
City Council members declined to say after the meeting why they voted to take the action against Waller. In an interview prior to the closed session, Rice was critical of Waller’s “management style.”
The mayor accused Waller of leaving the council out of the decision-making process during the recent layoffs, but did not blame him for the city’s financial budget woes.
“He can’t help that,” she said.
“They worked out this layoff plan but they didn’t even figure out how they were going to serve the public,” Rice said. “We don’t even have anybody at the desk up front. It’s going to be whoever is assigned up there that day. The lady who was there, at the front desk, was laid off.”
The City Council named Assistant City Manager Eddie Manfro as the interim manager.
“We don’t even have anybody at the desk up front. It’s going to be whoever is assigned up there that day. The lady who was there, at the front desk, was laid off.”
How are they going to “serve the public”? Simple–they won’t.
What did Rice think would happen when the laid off a boatload of their staff? This is a perfect case of “trim the fat”, until it makes your life inconvenient. That said, I sense there’s more to this story than just a disagreement over what postions were eliminated.
Hate to tell the mayor this, but we rarely had someone assigned to the desk on a permanent basis. I worked there for 29 years and we always were paper thin with personnel. The biggest mistake they could make would letting Waller go. He’s the smartest pencil in the city, and that includes you people on the council!
Yes, there is much more to this story. Too bad the corruption at Westminster city hall doesn’t make the media.
Tyler Diep fired Waller so he could pick the next Police Chief and play Vietnamese policing. Rice’s favorite staffers didn’t get their way, so met her at Uncle Pete’s to complain. How many workshops did the council end up having to consider the layoffs, all of which she was at?
Sympthy to the families of the children of Aurora Colorado. Who do you want in charge of the WPD when a horrific experience like this happens, a 25 year veteran or someone who does not know the city? Ask Tyler, Tri and Margie.