Staff, council resignations leave Darby mayor scrambling

By Michael Howell

Darby Mayor J. C. McDowell had to scramble to keep the Town Hall open for business following the abrupt departure of longtime Clerk and Treasurer Nancy McKinney and three council members.
McDowell said that the clerk’s resignation came as a surprise. He said he was informed on Thursday, October 7 by the Public Works director that McKinney had locked up the office and left a letter of resignation.
“In the 20 plus years of working for the Town residents, seven mayors, 21 council members, 23 board members and numerous volunteers, my integrity has never been questioned,” wrote McKinney. She said she was a hard working and loyal employee who gives up her own vacation time to get work done in an understaffed office. She said it was “painful experiencing and watching others being subjected to bullying tactics of repetitive and prolonged mayoral presentations at meetings and in the office that continue until the subjected party reluctantly agrees with him,” McKinney wrote. She called his treatment of others, including elected officials, “demeaning.”
McKinney’s resignation was followed by the resignation of three council members, Bret Rider, Mark Wohl, and Ed Pines. Rider echoed the comments McKinney made in her letter of resignation. He said he was tired of being “browbeaten” and being called names like “stupid,” “ignorant” and “idiot.”
Rider said that he did not agree with the Mayor’s priorities. He said he has public works putting in too much time on improving the rodeo grounds when they should be working on the town’s infrastructure. He said the Mayor would bring in out-of-towners to the council meetings to support his position on the budget. He said following the Mayor’s advice they had paid twice for surveys to find leaks in the water system but nothing’s ever been fixed. He strongly disagrees with the Mayor’s plan to cut back on staff in order to create a reserve fund.
“Everything was fine here for years,” said Rider, “until this mayor showed up. He tells us repeatedly that our budget is illegal but he offers no proof. If it was illegal for the last twelve years why hasn’t the state said anything? Or the auditors?”
Rider said he was just fed up with the Mayor’s badgering and just couldn’t stand any more of it.
In McDowell’s view it’s a case of wanting to shoot the messenger. He said the town has been running without any reserve funds for too long. He said the town was not meeting its legal requirements. He said it was not submitting the required financial statements to the state and no accurate monthly financial statements were being given to the Council. Without any reserve funds, a single catastrophe could destroy the town financially, he said. He said money also had to be put aside for upcoming wastewater improvements that are inevitably going to be required.
“This is not going to be easy for anyone,” said McDowell. It is going to mean cuts in staff in a situation where the staff is already being overworked, he said. His latest budget proposal involves cuts across the board, including cuts to the Police Department. He said the two remaining council members are resisting that idea. He said they would like to make cuts in other staff and in administration and keep the police department funded at the same rate.
“They say a rising tide raises all ships, but the opposite is true too, and at low tide we should see all the ships sink a little bit. Spreading out the cuts to every department just seems fair,” said McDowell.
In the meantime, McDowell is working overtime himself trying to put the office back on its feet. He said he is working hard with the Town’s auditor to get the situation under control and meet the minimum requirements of the state in terms of reporting. He got some help from the Town of Stevensville’s utility clerk and got the utility billing done for the month. He also asked former assistant clerk Tari Conroy, who quit last January, if she would come back and help them out. He said Conroy agreed to come back and work for a short spell but was not interested in permanent employment.
McDowell claims that the council can still function with only two members during this crisis and he’s asking them to pass the budget that he’s proposing. At the last meeting, Councilors Shane Starkey and Scott Ralston balked at the cuts proposed for the police department.
“It’s a tough time for Darby,” said McDowell. He said public input at the council meetings was welcome.