Communication Breakdown = No Deal? | 7/21/2026

“What we’ve got here — is a failure to communicate!”

Contract negotiations fell apart in Oregon due to a lack of communication. A sex offender who was in-line to become a city manager has now been arrested.

A California city manager has unexpectedly passed away and the North Carolina State Auditor has released a 2,600-page audit of the Town of Cary with some pretty shocking findings.

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When Milton-Freewater met on July 13th to approve a final contract offer to present to their finalist, Nicole Schneider, they must have thought that they were on their way to securing the services of their next city manager.

However, Schneider rejected the offer, expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of communication and the 3+ week wait after she was named the finalist on June 12 and offered a conditional contract.

Schneider on July 16 told Mayor Michael Odman she was withdrawing her candidacy based on a few factors, including the three weeks it took the city to provide a draft contract “despite the City’s awareness of my timeline and ongoing hiring process,” according to the email the East Oregonian obtained.

However, since rejecting the position there has been some communication between the parties and Schneider is reconsidering.

If you are an elected official reading this newsletter then the next time you are searching for a city manager — you need to court that person and be proactive in your communication. This occupation has become far too risky and many candidates are not willing to accept red flags that pop up during negotiations because it is indicative of systemic issues that may present themselves once they are on-board.

Dave Boliek and the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor released a 2,600-page report detailing what it views as “extravagant spending” and lax controls and minimal oversight.

One of the more glaring findings was that 62% of town employees apparently had a P-card, or 828 employees! That is a mind-boggling percentage. Employees charged more than $24 million to the cards over a two-year period.

This article outlines questionable expenses and then veers off into criticisms about the former city manager’s leadership style, where he is described as a bully and intimidating.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Wednesday that a criminal investigation is ongoing. “If our review of this report from the state auditor leads to the opening of a criminal investigation, that will be done by a request to the SBI from me and Cary Chief of Police Terry Sult,"

Boliek said Thursday that some of his office's findings are being withheld for now "in order to preserve the integrity of the criminal investigation."

Just five months into his tenure, Redding City Manager William Tarbox has died unexpectedly. A rookie city manager who previously served as the public works director for Concord, Tarbox seemingly hit the ground running and was a fireball of passion and energy for the work. He had launched a really aggressive reform agenda, calling it an ‘assault’ style overhaul of city operations.

A press release from the city said it would not release additional details about Tarbox's death out of respect for his family. He was 58 years old.

A couple weeks back we had the story about the female sex offender who was seemingly on a glide-path to becoming the next city manager for Jay, Florida?

Well, after massive public outcry her candidacy was rejected. And then things got even worse. She was arrested over the weekend for what appears to be a failure to register at a new address.

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