“In a totalitarian society, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” — George Orwell
ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.
I hear tell city managers on average last five years on their jobs before being fired or moving on. So Wayland City Manager Joshua Eggleston got an extra year here above the average.
As Eggleston rides off into the sunset, it should surprise absolutely no one that some folks did not care at all for the job the dearly departing city CEO did. A city manager is much like a school superintendent — beloved by some, despised by others.
I’ve covered a lot of city governments with city managers over more than 50 years, and Wayland’s situation is somewhat striking. In my 12 years of covering Wayland municipal government, I have watched carefully the sagas of City Managers Chris Yonker, Mike Selden, Tim McLean and Eggleston. Selden was the only one of this quartet who escaped much in the way of controversy. He got out of Dodge to take a more prestigious and better paying position without virtually anyone raising a ruckus.
But three of the four ex-managers were plagued by questions that have something to do with firings and telling the whole truth and nothing but about departures, some their own.
When I launched Townbroadcast the city was overrun with mistrust because no explanation was given about the dismissal of Yonker. That came at the same time an interim manager had to oversee the nasty task of firing the police chief.
In both cases, citizens essentially were given that tired old explanation that “he left to spend more time with his family” or “he resigned to pursue other career interests.”
Most of us common folks, the unwashed masses, to this day do not know the actual reasons for the dismissals of the police chief and former city manager.
I know, some will simply tell us, “You can’t handle the truth!”
Then came McLean, who made a sudden departure with the excuse he was getting married on the east side of the state. This was true, but he left a lot sooner than expected and he left a trail of controversy over “family restrooms” use in the City Park during a car show.
Just about all of Eggleston’s clouds have had something to do with his puzzling firing of a city treasurer who had earned the auditor’s praises for a long time, once again, without adequate explanation.
Others have not been happy with Eggleston’s handling of infrastructure issues, most publicly with a new city policy insisting homeowners shovel their own sidewalks and the owner of a local wine shop taking umbrage with parking policy near his business.
If you look at the scorecard, there is nothing remarkable on the negative side of Eggleston’s tenure, despite some snarky side remarks in this publication.
I must remember once again what I saw at the beginning of the year 2000, when then-City Manager Howard Penrod got the heave-ho on a vote by the Hastings City Council. Penrod was very capable as an administrator, but as the mayor told me, “He’s not a people person.”
Even more stunning was that immediately after the vote was taken, Penrod made remarks about how much he really enjoyed being city manager at Hastings for five years.
The reality of Eggleston’s leaving is that he took a job a lot closer to his home and for more money than what he’s getting here.
But the only thing that upsets me about all of this is the reluctance or refusal by city officials to tell the unwashed masses the truth about what’s happening. To be sure, they’ll say they can’t comment publicly on personnel issues and the Freedom of Information Act isn’t much help unless you have a lot of money and time to pursue the truth.
We live in an era in which voters don’t have a lot of confidence in their elected officials. And I submit this is a big reason why.
