Bessemer City Council uncertain of city manager position

By TOM STANKARD

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Bessemer - It appears the Bessemer City Council is having reservations about its decision to part ways with Michael Uskiewicz and replace him with former Wakefield City Manager Margot Anderson after the council voted at a special meeting Monday to add a review of Uskiewicz's employment status with the city to the agenda for a Thursday closed-session meeting originally intended to be an interview of Anderson.

At the Dec. 7 council meeting, the council voted to buy out Uskiewicz's contract and appointed Anderson as his replacement, pending Anderson's acceptance of the position. It was also agreed the council would interview Anderson on Dec. 17.

Since then, City Attorney Michael Korpela said Uskiewicz has signed a contract for his severance package and submitted a letter of resignation. Also, he said Anderson has since signed a contract accepting the position as interim city manager.

At Monday's meeting, there was approximately 20 people in the audience, but no city manager was present. Council member Linda Nelson asked who the city manager is - Uskiewicz or Anderson.

Since his severance package was signed and resignation letter was submitted, Nelson said Uskiewicz has "left."

"Papers were signed, contracts were signed and Mr. Uskiewicz packed up and he left the area," she said.

According to city's ordinance, Nelson said even if the city manager resigned and hands in his letter, the council can't deal with it until the next council meeting.

"We can't deal with it at the time he gives it to us," she said.

Council member John Frello said Uskiewicz left on a personal matter and will return.

Nelson said she and council member Rob Coleman feel that contracts for Uskiewicz and Anderson were "written, signed and entered into without proper protocol." She said it was clear to the council that no contracts were to be signed or entered until the council had the chance to interview the proposed candidate on Thursday, Dec. 17.

"The interview process was to be done in open session, and then the board was to go into closed session to discuss how we felt about the candidate and if we wanted to offer her a contract," she said.

Nelson said Korpela told the council "behind everybody's back" that "your city manager is gone, we have a new city manager."

Nelson continued, saying the contract that was signed made Anderson an "independent contractor."

"She can do what she wants, when she wants and how she wants" she said. "Do you really think any one of us would have agreed to this?"

Frello said he thinks the contracts are not valid either.

"The motion made stipulated that one agreement was contingent on approval of the other," he said. "In the motion, there was no authority to approve a contract for Ms. Anderson at the earliest until Thursday."

Frello continued, saying there was a misinterpretation of the motion from the previous special meeting.

In agreement, Coleman said the contracts do do not reflect the city's wishes.

"People are not happy about about this situation," he said. "We need to have the citizens behind us and make the community a community again."

With that, the council will hold a closed-session meeting on Thursday at 4:45 p.m. to evaluate Uskiewicz's employment status with the city council.