What happened
In two separate 3-1 votes, Montgomery City Council voted to terminate both contracts with Palmer and McCorquodale effective immediately. All four council members were present and Casey Olson, Place 2 City Council member and mayor pro tem, voted against both items.
At the meeting, Olson said he did not agree with the termination of Palmer, citing that the council did not uphold its end of the contract.
“[Gary Palmer] has done everything we asked him to do, end [of] story,” Olson said. “We follow a contract and when I put my name on a line, I'm going to honor that, end of story.”
Palmer's contract was previously brought in front of City Council during its Nov. 12 meeting, with council members citing “lack of confidence” as the reason to not renew the contract.
During the Nov. 18 special meeting, council members terminated the contract “for cause,” and Mayor Sara Countryman said City Attorney Alan Petrov told her the contract could be terminated for cause under the item regarding "willful misrepresentation to the city" and under the addendum of the contract.
Potential causes for termination outlined in Palmer’s contract include:
- Willful misconduct in connection with the performance of any of the city administrator's duties
- Willful misrepresentation to the city
- Conviction of a crime that rises to the level of a major misdemeanor or felony
- Material breach of the terms of the contract
“None of the council members wanted to share with me the alleged reasons for the termination, so I had zero opportunity to rebut any of the false accusations,” Gary Palmer said in a Nov. 19 interview with Community Impact.
The background
Palmer began working with the city in January 2023 after City Administrator Richard Tramm was fired by council in a 3-1 vote in May 2022, according to prior reporting.
McCorquodale served as the interim city administrator before the hiring of Palmer, as previously reported.
Quotes of note
- “Not only is there a breach of contract, but there's also just a basic due process violation, because to this day, they still haven't told me any specifics about why I was terminated,” Palmer said.
- “This is not an issue of emotion,” council member Stan Donaldson said. “It's not an issue of trying to get at somebody. ... I have no ulterior motive. I just want the city to move forward. I want it to move functionally, and there is a lot of other instances involved, which we can't really discuss right now, because ... this isn't a forum to bring out dirty trash. This is a forum to do business, and if we see that the direction that the leadership is going is not in our best interest, then we have a right to say, ‘No, it's got to turn and go another way.’”
- “Gary sent an email to the council June 5 saying, ‘I do not feel I'm successful in this city,’” council member Cheryl Fox said. “I don't understand why he couldn't be successful. ... If he wasn't successful, why were we spending so much money in the city?”
- “I'm very well aware of what's in [the contract], and I also agree 100% that I'm not going to let an ego or emotional decision damage my reputation, and we shouldn't allow it to damage the city of Montgomery's reputation,” Olson said. “If we sign a contract with someone ... and if you haven't read it, you need to read it again. It states exactly what causes for [termination]. We did none of those things to provide him those causes.”
Montgomery Chief of Police Anthony Solomon will act as the interim city administrator after a 4-0 council vote appointed him to the position.
“We are going to take a minute and breathe and allow him [Solomon] to get his arms wrapped around the needs we have at the moment and time,” Countryman said in a Nov. 19 interview with Community Impact. “I know the council is focused on getting the right personnel in office.”
Palmer also said he has retained legal counsel.
“The purpose of that contract is to protect me from frivolous terminations like this,” Palmer said.
Palmer said he had no employment issues, no disciplinary issues and no performance issues.
“I have no idea what the catalyst was, [I] still don’t,” Palmer said.
Countryman said the City Council will meet with its legal counsel to discuss the potential of a lawsuit and will move forward in a manner that is best for the citizens of its community.
Community Impact has reached out to council member Casey Olsen and Dave McCorquodale for additional comment.
View the Nov. 18 agenda packet below.
