Got some great stories in today’s newsletter.
A county manager suggested that he was fired because he was asked to engage in unethical conduct that violated the ICMA Code of Ethics. A town manager turned over 500 pages of documents containing his ChatGPT/AI queries and work product. A public sector executive was fired days after the organization posted an ad for his job — yikes!
All that and so much more.
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Job Board Postings
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City/County Manager Recruitments
FL: Juno Beach - Town Manager (5/22/2026) | Colin Baenziger
MO: Crestwood - City Administrator (5/1/2026) | Colin Baenziger
TX: Victoria - Deputy City Manager (5/22/2026) | Clear Career
TX: Waco - Assistant City Manager (5/20/2026) | Mackenzie Eason
Other
IL: Village of St. Joseph - Public Works Director (Until Filled) | in-house
NM: Ruidoso - Economic Development Director (5/6/2026) | Clear Career
NM: Ruidoso - Finance Director (5/6/2026) | Clear Career
NM: Ruidoso - Water Resource Director (5/6/2026) | Clear Career
SC: Charleston - Chief Information Officer (5/22/2026) | Colin Baenziger
TX: Dumas - Finance Director (5/6/2026) | Clear Career
TX: Lufkin - City Engineer (Extended - 5/19/2026) | Clear Career
TX: Marble Falls - Finance Director (Until Filled) | Clear Career
TX: Odessa - Assistant City Attorney (5/10/2026) | Clear Career
TX: Odessa - Chief Financial Officer (5/8/2026) | Clear Career
TX: Weatherford - Assistant Director of Water Utilities (Until Filled) | Clear Career
TX: Wichita Falls - Chief Building Official (4/29/2026) | Clear Career
TN: Are your ChatGPT/AI queries subject to public records requests?
This story out of Signal Mountain caught my attention because they screwed over their former city manager in one of the most disgusting terminations I have ever read about. And I have some suspicions about the motivations behind it.
Be that as it may — I read the story and I thought the ChatGPT/AI angle was important to share with all of you. The article reads:
“The Chattanooga Times Free Press obtained over 500 pages of City Manager Matt Justice's exchanges with the AI service ChatGPT through an open records request as part of Sunshine Week, a nationwide effort to raise awareness of open government matters.”
I would love to get your feedback/thoughts on whether your AI queries should be subject to disclosure.
WA: King County fired manager who steered $800K in racial equity grants to her own family — and officials knew for years: report'A matter of professional integrity and self-respect': Biddeford city manager resigns after nine months
If you have a DEI/equity program and you are not actively monitoring the transactions in that department then you are a fool. Over the last few years I have read more stories about fraud in this area than any other department.
The grift is strong in these entitlement and reparations woods…
King County officials first learned of a potential conflict of interest in 2020, when a former contractor employee emailed multiple county workers accusing McGhee of a “glaring conflict of interest” involving her daughter’s work. Nobody followed up.
TX: Bryan City Manager Andrew Nelson Returns To Work Following Brain Surgery
Great, great news to report!
Please keep praying for Andrew’s continued recovery.
NC: Terminated County Manager Says ICMA Code of Ethics Cost Him His Job
A commissioner says David Smitherman was terminated over his “failure to be willing to fulfill his duties as county manager and clerk of Onslow County.” Smitherman says:
“The International City/County Management Association’s Code of Ethics, to which I subscribe, would be violated if I had performed as a group of commissioners insisted. Unfortunately, I was not afforded an opportunity to address the full board regarding the request. This was not the first time I was challenged to breach ethical practice.”
News Around the Country
AL: YIKES! Candidate accepts Anniston city manager role on a split 3-2 vote and only has a six-month contract
CA: Antioch City Council votes 4-0 in Closed Session to place City Manager Bessie Scott on paid leave; local paper expected her to be fired
CA: DOUBLE YIKES! Hanford-area water district fires longtime manager days after posting an ad for his job
FL: From Joint Command to City Manager: How Military Management Prepared Boca Raton City Manager Mark Sohaney
GA: Coolidge City Manager Lonnie Adamson named sole finalist for Brooklet manager role
MN: Austin City Administrator Craig Clark to become Cedar Falls' (Iowa) next city administrator
MO: Shock as 36-year-old New Florence police chief dies suddenly; condolences to City Administrator David Ingle and his community
NY: Beacon deputy administrator Ben Swanson will succeed retiring Chris White
OR: Klamath Community College names Klamath Falls City Manager Jonathan Teichert as keynote speaker for commencement ceremony
TX: Ennis ACM Daniel Ortiz Hernandez unanimously approved as city manager by Beloit, Wisconsin
TX: REVERSE! Gunter votes to bring back city manager position it eliminated during government change a couple years ago
TX: Heading for the exits: Killeen Assistant City Manager Jeffrey Reynolds announced his retirement; City Manager Kent Cagle announced he was retiring a couple weeks ago
Compensation & Contracts
WI: Daniel Ortiz Hernandez will earn $190,000 in Beloit
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