After weeks of discussion, closed-door meetings and controversy, the Battle Ground City Council passed a resolution Friday afternoon to fire City Manager Dennis Osborn.
The termination will take effect in 30 days. In the meantime, Osborn is suspended from his duties, and Deputy City Manager John Williams will continue as acting city manager. The city council met in executive session for an hour Friday afternoon before announcing the decision. Councilman Alex Reinhold did not attend the meeting. Councilmen Bill Ganley and Phil Haberthur participated by telephone in the executive session but were absent during the vote.
“We pulled the trigger,” Mayor Michael Ciraulo said after the meeting. “We made the decision to fire him.”
State statute requires the 30-day period before the termination is effective in order to give Osborn a chance to appeal the decision, City Attorney Brian Wolfe said. Osborn was hired in February 2007. He received an annual evaluation, but his contract was for an indefinite period.
Osborn’s attorney, William Monahan, said Friday afternoon he had not yet been notified of the council’s decision and did not want to comment until he had a chance to review the documents.
$95,000 severance
Osborn has been on paid leave since Jan. 19 and will be paid during his 30-day suspension. Once the termination is official, Osborn’s contract requires the city to pay him four months’ salary, health benefits for six months, all accrued vacation time and half of his accrued sick leave. In total, the severance will cost the city about $95,000, Ciraulo said.
The mayor said there were no winners in the decision but that he is relieved the council has taken action.
“It has been extremely frustrating that it’s taken this long to come to a resolution,” he said. “There are many reasons why it’s taken so long, and I hope all those reasons become public.
“The city is going to pay $95,000, and I think the citizens deserve to know why we’re paying that,” Ciraulo said.
Those reasons would likely be made fully public only if Osborn files a lawsuit against the city, Ciraulo said. And if Osborn does sue, the city is prepared, he said.
The city council unanimously voted to remove Osborn from office because it has lost confidence in Osborn’s ability to lead the city, according to the resolution. Osborn also told the council — through his attorney, about a week ago — that he wished to resign, Ciraulo said. If Osborn had resigned voluntarily, his contract states he would be paid only for his accrued vacation and sick time.
Ciraulo said he could not comment on why the council decided to fire Osborn rather than accept his informal resignation, citing executive session privileges.
Osborn has been under fire since he terminated popular Police Chief James McDaniel on Dec. 17. The city council voted unanimously Jan. 14 to launch a performance audit of Osborn, which was scheduled to begin in late January.
The audit was put on hold after Osborn requested the paid time off. Since then, the council has held numerous closed-door sessions to decide on Osborn’s future with the city, Ciraulo said.
McDaniel’s termination sparked outcry from the community, prompting demonstrators to line busy intersections for weeks following the firing.The city’s police and public employees unions cast votes of no-confidence against Osborn in December, and numerous city employees have publicly denounced the firing and Osborn’s management style.
Ciraulo said he hopes the decision to fire Osborn will allow the city and its citizens to begin the healing process.
“I think the city needs to move on,” he said. “We’ve been embroiled in controversy for too long.”
The city council will appoint someone to serve as the interim city manager once Osborn leaves. Ciraulo hopes to have hire a permanent replacement within six months.
“The first step in the healing has begun,” Ciraulo said.
Marissa Harshman: 360-735-4546 or marissa.harshman@columbian.com.
