Johnson’s arrival delayed

“I have taken the liberty to assure Mr. Johnson that we understand and are willing to work with him and hold the position for him,” Dorrah said.

“The Council has the option of saying ‘sorry Mr. Johnson, if you can’t be here next week we don’t want you,’ ” — but Dorrah said he doesn’t think that’s the right thing to do, given Johnson’s circumstances.

Dorrah laid out his proposal to have the Council interview former interim city manager Steve Bogart within the next couple of weeks as a possible replacement for Tim Collins, who has been working as interim manager since the Council fired Steve Brocato on June 9, 2009.

“Steve Bogart has been going from city to city to city for years,” Dorrah said. “He served as city manager here for a while.”

Dorrah also mentioned a provision in the city charter that requires the City Council to fill a vacancy in the city manager’s position within six months.

The City Council missed that deadline by nine days — councilors fired Brocato on June 9 and offered the job to Johnson on Dec. 18.

That provision does not apply to interim managers, however.

Because of his concern about violating the city charter, Dorrah said he called the League of Oregon Cities and identified Bogart as a possible replacement for Collins.

Dorrah suggested the City Council meet with Bogart and interview him during a work session scheduled for Jan. 19, or at the next regular Council meeting, Jan. 26.

During a discussion of Dorrah’s idea, Councilor Milo Pope blasted Dorrah and councilors Beverly Calder, Aletha Bonebrake and Clair Button for considering replacing Collins after he agreed to replace Brocato last June.

“It’s beyond my comprehension to have yet another city manager,” Pope said. “I am so disgusted with the whole process that started June 9 when you fired Steven Brocato. You have made nothing but a pig’s breakfast out of it since that time.”

Contrary to Dorrah’s contention earlier in the meeting that Collins didn’t want to stay on as interim manager, Collins himself reaffirmed his willingness to continue to work until Johnson comes to Baker City, however long that takes.

“I told the mayor I would be willing to serve as interim city manager until Johnson gets here,” Collins said. “The mayor told me he would rather have another city manager in the interim.”

With the new year, Collins said he is eligible to work as city manager while receiving PERS benefits for another six months.

Collins said if it takes longer than six months for Johnson to deal with the family medical emergency, he would be willing to stay longer at his current salary rate, even though he would not receive PERS benefits for any time beyond the first six months of this year.

Collins made it clear that he will not compete for the job with Bogart, however.

“Don’t talk to Bogart,” Collins said. “You can’t consider him before me. I have some pride. If you wish to consider someone else, go ahead, but don’t expect me to be a candidate for the job. You know the job I do.

“It’s just screwy to me ... ,” he said. “Unless you are really dissatisfied with me.”

“I want you to stay,” Pope said to Collins.

Councilor Andrew Bryan echoed Pope’s sentiment and made a motion that the Council retain Collins as city manager until Johnson arrives.

Councilor Clair Button said the dispute over Collins’ tenure is an extension of the feud that’s been going on since the Council voted 4-3 to fire Brocato.

Button, Calder, Dorrah and Bonebrake voted for the motion to fire Brocato.

Pope, Bryan and Sam Bass voted against that motion.

“I would like us as city management and City Council to end the political campaigns and personal attacks that have gone on too long,” Button said. “It’s not fair to the public, it’s not fair to the city, and personally it is not not fair to us as individual city councilors.”

Calder said she appreciates Collins’ work, but that “too much has not changed in the past six months.”

“We need to stop this now. Stop the fighting, stop the bickering, stop bringing up (and arguing over past decisions),” Calder said. “We all have experience with Mr. Bogart. I think he can help end this acrimony.”

Bryan said that although he sympathizes with Johnson’s situation, “we have hired him as city manager. If he is not able to fill that position in a reasonable timeframe, we need to move on.”

“Mr. Collins has not been complimentary of Mr. Johnson. It certainly makes it more difficult for us to move on,” Bonebrake said.

Collins acknowledged that in his opinion hiring Johnson as city manager “was not the best decision,” but he pointed out that he won’t be working for Johnson.

“I desperately hope I am the last victim of a 4-3 vote of this Council,” Collins said.

Dorrah said he would vote no on Bryan’s motion because he felt it would compel the Council to keep Collins for an indefinite period.

After further discussion, Bryan withdrew his motion with the understanding that Dorrah would contact Johnson to find out when he is likely to be ready to work in Baker City.

Dorrah then withdrew his call for the council to meet with Bogart, and said he’ll report back, at the Jan. 26 Council meeting, about his conversation with Johnson.

No action on whether to retain Collins or interview Bogart to serve as city manager in the interim will be taken until after he reports back to the Council, Dorrah said after Tuesday’s meeting.

In other business Tuesday:

 • After hearing testimony from Police Chief Wyn Lohner and resident Kelly Hardy about a number of traffic accidents in the vicinity of Geiser-Pollman Park, the Council approved installing stop signs on Madison Street at its intersection with Grove Street.

Hardy, who lives near the intersection, said she has seen a number of accidents and near-misses involving cars and pedestrians walking to and from the park.

Two of those accidents involved vehicles crashing into her yard, Hardy said.

• Councilors delayed action on Calder’s question about removing snow berms after listening to reports from Collins and Tom Fisk, the city’s street supervisor, about the potential costs of removing the berms from Main Street and other streets.

Please see Friday’s edition of the Baker City Herald for further reporting on the Council’s discussion Tuesday about snow berms.