BOYNE CITY — At a March 11 meeting, the Boyne City Commission voted unanimously to terminate City Manager Michael Cain’s contract, but the effective date remains undecided until consultation with the city attorney.
According to a March 12 statement from Mayor Tim Nemecek, he said despite the Commission’s efforts to articulate areas that needed improvement there continues to be an unfortunate pattern of concerns as determined by the most recent annual evaluation.
The city manager’s overall performance rating was determined to be 2.57 out of 5, which corresponds to a rating of ‘marginal performance.’
Following thorough deliberation, Commissioner Bob Farrell made a motion for a vote of no confidence in the city manager and to terminate the city manager’s contract for cause.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Sandy Pritchard and passed with a unanimous 5-0 vote by the commission.
“The unity of this decision reflects the Commission’s shared dedication to ensuring high standards of leadership and accountability within our city government,” Nemecek said in his statement.
Nemecek said the effective date of the decision has not yet been established as the Commission will be consulting with the City Attorney Matt Cross to ensure a proper and smooth transition.
“I want to assure the community that the City Commission is committed to a smooth and orderly transition,” Commissioner Bob Farrell said during discussion of the issue March 11. “The criteria and the end outcome were such that I really have concerns with us moving forward, and I would make a motion, a vote of no confidence for the city manager and we terminate the contract for cause.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor Tim Nemecek and Commissioner George Lasater both said they were “blind-sided” by the motion although they ended up voting in favor of it.
In Nemeck’s statement following the vote, he said the commission plans to ensure transparency and regular meeting schedules.
“We remain dedicated to the responsible development of the city’s $524.4 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year beginning May 1,” Nemecek said. “The City Commission will take all appropriate steps to ensure that city operations and services continue uninterrupted during this period. We will move forward in a manner that is responsible, transparent and in the best interest of the citizens of Boyne City. We will continue to keep the community informed throughout this process. Thank you for your understanding, patience, and continued support.”
A major problem with the timing of the termination is that the Commission is due to start three day-long meetings at 8 a.m. Thursday, March 13, Monday, March 17, and, if necessary, Wednesday, March 19, to complete the city’s $24.4 million budget for the fiscal year beginning May 1.
According to Nemecek, the upcoming city budget meetings scheduled will proceed as planned.