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Town Manager Firing Puts Newcomers in Spotlight: After Campaigning for Open Government, They Say Little About Reasons

Posted on: Thursday, 29 December 2005, 09:00 CST

By Mike Donila, The Charlotte Observer, N.C., The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Dec. 29--When Indian Trail political newcomers Dan Schallenkamp and Shirley Howe launched their town council campaigns, they stressed open government and listening to the public.

But now some town officials and residents are accusing them of swinging a back-door deal to hire former state legislator Fern Shubert as interim manager.

Only weeks after being sworn in to office Dec. 13, Schallenkamp and Howe revolted against the old guard and fired longtime Town Manager John Munn. They've said little about why they wanted him out.

Mayor Sandy Moore called the ouster "staged," and said she was disappointed Munn's opponents didn't give him a chance to work with them. Council member Mercedes Cass joined the newcomers in the 3-2 votes to fire Munn and hire Shubert.

Councilman Donald Helms said the plan to remove Munn was done in secret.

He added: "You should have given him a chance. You campaigned on listening to the public, but you're not listening to anybody. You've already made up your minds."

Helms voted with Ray Killough to keep Munn.

Schallenkamp and Howe, though, say their actions are different from those of the previous council: They say they acted in the public's best interest and had to move quickly.

"The criticisms are already coming," Schallenkamp said.

On Tuesday, Schallenkamp spearheaded a move to fire Munn in front of a crowd of more than 80 people -- a majority of them Munn's supporters.

The crowd chastised the two newcomers and Cass, and even the mayor took some shots at them.

When one resident spoke about a topic not relevant to the meeting, Schallenkamp asked her to stop. Moore then reminded him his campaign platform "was for letting the people speak."

Howe says she doesn't mind the residents speaking "but we have rules and regulations."

"There are time limits and you can't be abusive to anyone," Howe said.

When asked about Tuesday night's hostile crowd, both council members say they don't believe those residents represent the pulse of the community. The two each received more than 800 votes to win their seats by wide margins, defeating two incumbents.

"It still wasn't a fun meeting or a fun decision to come to," Schallenkamp said.

Schallenkamp wouldn't say why he wanted Munn gone, but said "it isn't personal."

Both have accused the previous council of spending a lot of time in closed sessions but said private plans to bring in Shubert are not comparable.

Schallenkamp said "a certain amount of discretion was required," so they were quiet about bringing in an interim manger. "It's not like we could go out and publicize a position like that," he said.

By February, the town will advertise for a permanent manager, Schallenkamp said.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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